Hong Kong’s finance chief Paul Chan has laid out the upcoming financial plan for the public and businesses in the latest Budget 2023, including investing heavily on artificial intelligence and innovation and technology development, as well as introducing new initiatives to attract talents and boost local economy as the city enters the post-pandemic era.
The city's leader John Lee welcomes the latest Budget and has called on the public for support, saying that the initiatives reflect the vision of his cabinet and will keep Hong Kong's recovery on track. “It has a well-balanced range of proposals that provide timely relief for individuals and businesses during these challenging economic times. I am confident that this will help to restore and consolidate our position as a world-leading destination for investment, enterprises, talent and tourism,” Lee said.
Love it or hate it, the measures laid out in the latest financial plan certainly benefit a number of sectors in Hong Kong including the advertising industry and marketing community. Let's take a look at what some of the adland leaders MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out to think about the latest Budget.
Jeffrey Hau, co-founder & CEO, PRIZM Group Hong Kong
The investment into Web3 and also tech startup caught my eyes. It is probably not just the money that will be injected, but it is also the attention from the government and most crucially the introduction of new guidelines that regulate this space.
Of course any of us as a consumer will welcome the release of a new round of spending voucher, and it definitely will fuel the sentiment in the city, however, I am skeptical whether it will be able to act as a stimulation to additional spending for the retail market, especially when the border has opened and many are saving for their travel. So the budget that is allocated for the new wave of campaign to welcome travellers might be the answer to at least some of the businesses.
In the recent years, I will say the shortage of talents entering the ad and martech industry is more of a headache than the concerning economy.
"In my opinion, attracting talents from overseas is important, but that cannot substitute with home grown talents nurtured locally."
Communication and comprehension of local knowledge are utterly important...
Published by Marketing Interactive on 23 February 2023
