About Hong Kong
Nature
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is composed of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories and surrounding 262 islands. The land area totaled 110.634km2, of which Hong Kong Island covers an area of 80.68km2, Kowloon 46.94km2 and New Territories 978.72km2. Oceanic Area of HKSAR is 1,648.69 km2.
HKSAR, located in region of subtropical climate, enjoys temperate climate for nearly half a year. In winter, the temperature may fall below 10°C; while in summer, the temperature will climb to above 31°C. The rainfall mainly occurs from May to September, contributing to 80% of the total in a year.
Political system
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be a local administrative region of the People’s Republic of China, with a high degree of autonomy and come directly under the Central People’s Government. The National People’s Congress authorizes the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to exercise a high degree of autonomy and enjoy executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication, in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law.
Chief Executive
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be the head of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and its government, and shall be accountable to the Central People’s Government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the Basic Law. The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be selected by election or through consultations held locally and be appointed by the Central People’s Government, serving a term of five years. The current Chief Executive is Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
Executive Council
The Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be an organ for assisting the Chief Executive in policymaking, and its members shall be appointed by the Chief Executive from among the principal officials of the executive authorities, members of the Legislative Council and public figures.
Executive authority
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be the executive authority thereof. A Department of Administration, Department of Finance, Department of Justice, and various bureaux, divisions and commissions shall be established in the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. According to the Basic Law, The principal officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be nominated by the Chief Executive and appointed by the Central People’s Government. Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, Paul Chan Mo-po and Rimsky Yuen now serves as the head of Department of Administration, head of Department of Finance and head of Department of Justice, respectively.
Legislature
The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be the legislature of the Region. The sixth Legislature Council was formed in June 2016 with a 70 seats in total, including 35 seats for geographical constituency and 35 for functional constituency. The current President of the Legislative Council is Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen.
The judiciary
The Court of Final Appeal, the High Court, district courts, magistrates’ courts and other special courts are established in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Geoffrey Ma Tao-li now serves as the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal.
Economy
HKSAR is an international center of finance, shipping and trading with developed economy. In 2017, calculated on market price, the gross regional product reached HKD2,661 billion (up by 3.8% YoY without considering price factors), and the total per-capita income is HKD360,000, which stands on a high level. In 2017, the basic inflation rate was 1.7%, showing a moderate growth of commodity price. By the end of 2017, HKSAR held 3,960,400 labourers and 2.9% unemployment rate, maintaining a state of full employment. Service industry plays a vital role in the economic structure with a proportion constantly staying above 90% of the gross regional product.
HKSAR, one of the regions with most open economy, has been rated as the freest economy of the world for 24 consecutive years. HKSAR applies a simple tax system with low rate. Salaries tax is levied as per different proportions after exceeding allowances, which is not higher than 17%. The profits tax for corporations is 16.5%. The Government of HKSAR has a healthy financial position. By the end of 2017, the fiscal reserve totaled HKD1,064.5 billion, and the foreign exchange reserve as USD431.4 billion. HKSAR now has three issuing banks, namely Bank of China (Hong Kong), HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank. HKSAR applies the linked exchange rate system to maintain monetary stabilization (HK$7.8 vs US$1) as the basic objective of monetary policy.
International financial center: HKSAR is a major bank center of the world. By the end of 2017, Hong Kong Monetary Authority has approved 191 banking institutions, including 155 licensed banks, 19 restricted licensed banks and 17 deposit-taking companies. The assets, deposits and loans & advance payment of the recognized banking institutions totaled HKD22.70 trillion, HKD12.75 trillion and HKD9.31 trillion, respectively. The stock market of HKSAR has a great influence on the world arena. By the end of 2017, 2,118 companies got listed on HKEX (mainboard and ChiNext) with total stock value of HKD34 trillion, ranking No.6 in the world and No.3 in Asia. In 2017, the sum of money raised on stock market amounted to HKD579.9 billion, including HKD128.2 billion from IPO and ranking the third in the world. HKSAR is the world's largest offshore RMB business hub and financing & asset management center. By the end of 2017, the Renminbi deposit (including outstanding certificates of deposit) at HKSAR’s banking system totaled RMB618.4 billion, with the loan balance of RMB144.5 billion. In 2017, a sum of RMB3,926.5 billion was settled at the banks in HKSAR, and RMB-denominated bonds of RMB20.6 billion were also issued in HKSAR.
International trading center: HKSAR is the seventh trading economy of the world and one of the major exporters of ready-to-wear clothes, clocks, jewelries, toys, games, electronics and some light industrial products. In 2017, the sum of goods trade in HKSAR was HKD8.24 trillion, including HKD3.88 trillion from exports (including export and re-export of local products) and HKD4.36 trillion from imports. The sum of service trade was HKD1.41 trillion, including HKD0.81 trillion from service output and HKD0.60 trillion from service input.
International shipping center: HKSAR, an important maritime hub of Asia, provides around 340 container ships per week to about 470 destinations all over the world. In 2017, the container throughput was 20,770,000 TEU, ranking the fifth among the world’s container ports. Hong Kong International Airport is the busiest freight hub in the world and one of the 10 busiest airport passenger terminals. It provides more than 1,100 flights per day to around 190 waypoints of the world, including 42 inland cities. In 2017, Hong Kong International Airport recorded 4.94 million tons of air freight, topping the world, and a capacity of 72.46 million passengers, ranking the eighth of the world.