Financial Services Secretary Christopher Hui Strengthens Hong Kong-Poland Business Ties During Warsaw Visit

2025-09-27 10:00 Last Updated At：10:08

SFST gets better grasp of needs of companies go global in Poland

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, visited the Warsaw Stock Exchange and met with Polish officials and members of the business sector in Warsaw, Poland before concluding his visit to the country. He also visited a Mainland enterprise which has set up factory facilities in Tychy, Poland, to learn about the needs of the go global companies.

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SFST gets better grasp of needs of companies go global in Poland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

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SFST gets better grasp of needs of companies go global in Poland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

On September 25 (Warsaw time), Mr Hui visited the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW) and met with its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tomasz Bardziłowski, as well as other management members. The GPW was founded by the Polish State Treasury and is a major financial instrument exchange in Central and Eastern Europe.

During the meeting, Mr Hui introduced to them the strong momentum of Hong Kong's stock market which has an average daily turnover for the first eight months of 2025 of EUR 27 billion, and the policy support behind the success. He said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to strengthening the breadth and depth of the listing platform and securities market. New initiatives were just announced by the Chief Executive in his 2025 Policy Address aiming to continuously strengthen the stock market, including further optimising the regimes for listing on the Main Board and issuing structured products, as well as encouraging more overseas enterprises to seek secondary listings in Hong Kong. The GPW considers the Mainland and Hong Kong to be growth engines for economy nowadays. Mr Hui anticipated more connections could be established with the GPW to increase the diversity of both stock markets, including real-world asset tokenisation which the GPW is interested in.

Later at a meeting with the Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of Poland, Mr Michał Baranowski, Mr Hui introduced to him the stellar performance of Hong Kong in wealth management and its equity market, as well as new initiatives aiming to drive financial development, such as building an international gold trading market which will comprise a Government-led central clearing system for gold.

He then met with the Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Finance (MoF) of Poland, Mr Jarosław Neneman; the Director of the International Tax Policy Department in the MoFof Poland, Mr Cezary Krysiak; and the Director of the International Cooperation Department in the MoFof Poland, Mr Paweł Siwek, to request the removal of Hong Kong from Poland's "list of jurisdictions with harmful tax practice" (the List). Mr Hui highlighted that Hong Kong had been fully supporting international efforts in enhancing tax transparency and combating tax evasion and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development had not identified any harmful tax regimes in Hong Kong.

Noting that Hong Kong had been rated by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes as largely compliant in the international standards on exchange of information on request and is also not on the European Union’s watchlist on tax co-operation, the Polish MoF, taking into account all the circumstances, will positively consider removing Hong Kong from the List.

Mr Hui also proposed to start negotiations on a Comprehensive Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement (CDTA) between Hong Kong and Poland as soon as practicable. Both sides see that a CDTA could be conducive to bilateral trade activities, bringing substantial mutual benefits.

In the afternoon, Mr Hui had a meeting with the Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Wojciech Zajączkowski. Mr Hui told him that Hong Kong has maintained its ranking of third place globally, with the rating gaps with first place (New York) and second place (London) narrowed to two points and one point respectively in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) 38 Report published on the same day. Hong Kong leaped to first place in the world in fintech offerings, and the rankings in the areas of "business environment", "infrastructure", and "reputational and general" also rose to first globally. With the gateway roles of Poland and Hong Kong in their respective regions, the two places can co-operate in various areas to facilitate Mainland enterprises to enter the European market, and European enterprises can access the Asian and Chinese markets through Hong Kong.

Mr Hui also joined a business luncheon organised by the China Construction Bank to meet with management of various renowned Mainland enterprises which have set up a presence in Europe. He assured them that Hong Kong is determined to position itself as a platform for "bringing in and going global" to support Mainland enterprises in seeking overseas expansion. He noted that aside from world-class professional services and its robust financial regime, Hong Kong has much more to offer to assist enterprises to expand further.

On the same day, Mr Hui also met with the Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Poland, Ms Li Danhong, to update her on the financial landscape in Hong Kong.

Before concluding his visit to Poland on September 26 (Tychy time), Mr Hui went for a visit to the Sanhua AWECO Polish Appliance to meet with their management team and tour its Tychy plant which is the largest among the three key manufacturing facilities of the company across Europe.

At a meeting with the General Manager and Chief Financial Officer of the Sanhua EMEA Shared Management Platform of Sanhua Group, Mr Yao Bing, and the Chief Executive Officer of Sanhua Aweco EMEA, Mr Liu Shifeng, Mr Hui elaborated to them on the various initiatives Hong Kong will launch and the professional services available to assist Mainland companies to go global through Hong Kong. He also had a deep discussion with them to learn more about the challenges that Mainland companies have encountered during their journey of overseas expansion.

Mr Hui will return to Hong Kong on September 27.

Six illegal workers and an employer arrested in Hong Kong's anti-illegal worker operation Contribute.

Seven persons arrested during anti-illegal worker operation

The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted an anti-illegal worker operation codenamed "Contribute" today (January 15).During the operation, ImmD Task Force officers raided premises under renovation in a newly built public housing estate in Sheung Shui district.A total of six suspected illegal workers and one suspected employer were arrested. Thearrested suspected illegal workers comprise six men, aged 22 to 41. Furthermore, one man, aged 45, suspected of employing the illegal workers, was also arrested. An investigation into the suspected employers is ongoing, and the possibility of further arrests is not ruled out.

Apart from mounting the enforcement operation, ImmD officers and a promotional vehicle have been deployed to distribute "Don't Employ Illegal Workers" leaflets and convey the message in the estate.

An ImmD spokesman said, "Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him or her shall be guilty of an offence. Also, visitors are not allowed to take employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years' imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties."

The spokesman stressed that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. Under the Immigration Ordinance, the maximum penalty for an employer employing a person who is not lawfully employable, i.e. an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land, has been significantly increased from a fine of $350,000 and three years' imprisonment to a fine of $500,000 and 10 years' imprisonment to reflect the gravity of such offences. The director, manager, secretary, partner, etc, of the company concerned may also bear criminal liability. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.

According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $150,000 and to imprisonment for one year. In that connection, the spokesman would like to remind all employers not to defy the law by employing illegal workers. The ImmD will continue to take resolute enforcement action to combat such offences.

Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct an initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) and/or forced labour victims. When any TIP and/or forced labour indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the ImmD officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP and/or forced labour elements. Identified TIP and/or forced labour victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter or temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP and/or forced labour victims to report crimes to the relevant departments immediately.

For reporting illegal employment activities, please call the dedicated hotline 3861 5000, by fax at 2824 1166, email to anti_crime@immd.gov.hk, or submit "Online Reporting of Immigration Offences" form at www.immd.gov.hk.

Financial Services Secretary Christopher Hui Strengthens Hong Kong-Poland Business Ties During Warsaw Visit