Lawmakers Back Plan to Turn Hong Kong into Global Commodity Trading Hub

On the first day of Legco's three-day discussion of the city's inaugural five-year plan, a group of lawmakers voiced strong support for creating a comprehensive commodity trading ecosystem. Commercial lawmaker Andrew Yao urged the government to prioritize green-energy and agricultural commodity trading and to accelerate the construction of high-quality warehouses by easing land-lease restrictions in the Northern Metropolis and near the airport.

The administration has proposed slashing the standard profit tax from 16.5% to 8.25% for physical trading, a move that import-export representative Tommy Chung wants to broaden to local warehouses and logistics firms. Industrial legislator Ray Wong suggested a dedicated 5% tax rate for environmentally compliant green commodities, citing Singapore as a model. Finance lawmaker Ronick Chan advocated for positioning Hong Kong alongside major gold-trading centres and encouraging the People's Bank of China, as well as the central banks of India and Asean nations, to store gold reserves locally. Tourism representative Vivian Kong called for a single MICE authority to streamline business-tourism services, while Federation of Trade Unions member Stanley Ng asked for annual reporting on jobs created by development projects in the Northern Metropolis.