When Chief Executive (CE) John Lee stepped off his plane in Hong Kong, he was full of smiles. He had just completed a very successful trade mission to Central Asia worth about HK$10.35 billion and saw the signing of 96 agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) covering investment, aviation, cultural exchange and customs. Not bad for one week’s work.
Lee was the leader of a 70 member-strong delegation of officials, businessmen and women and cultural managers from both Hong Kong and the mainland. It was an action-packed series of meetings, banquets and visits to the two key Central Asian cities of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The trip was so successful that Hong Kong’s status as a “super-connector” has been upgraded a “super-value-adder agent,” proactively integrating into the “Silk Road Economic Belt,” and strengthening its functional platform role within the “Belt and Road Initiative.”
There are a number of similarities between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan which make partnerships there more palpable. The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), a special economic zone in the capital, applies common law and international arbitration, as well as special tax and currency regulatory regimes, and houses the Astana International Exchange.
A major item on the agenda was with Hong Kong’s three major innovation and technology parks (Cyberport, Science Parks, and Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park), who signed a technology cooperation pact with Kazakhstan, enabling mainland technology firms to connect with Central Asia through Hong Kong and advance cooperation in artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure. Kazakhstan will hold a roadshow in Hong Kong to attract investors and professional service institutions next year.
Central Asia can become a strategic logistics hub for Hong Kong as wars in the Middle East and Europe persist, with cargo volume between the city and two countries in the region surging nearly fivefold year on year.
With this in mind, the Hong Kong Airport Authority and Cathay Pacific secured operational agreements with Almaty International Airport in Kazakhstan. Cathay announced that it plans to operate three direct flights per week connecting Hong Kong to Almaty, starting in the first quarter of next year.
Several business entities among the delegation signed individual MOUs with their counterparts in the two countries, covering sectors such as finance, asset management, aviation, media, agriculture and new energy.
MOUs, a common vehicle used for cooperation between parties, are usually non-binding and outline only broad intentions and mutual understanding. These are often upgraded to Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) which is more detailed and often includes legally enforceable obligations.
A number of the agreements were signed by state-backed investment bank China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC) as well as their Kazakh partners, including one with the Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna.
The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce also secured deals.
During the visit, coordinated and promoted by senior Hong Kong government officials, Shandong-based private enterprise Xinfa Group reached an agreement with Kazakhstan to invest about HK$117.5 billion in developing a large-scale industrial park spanning over 3,000 hectares, encompassing the entire industrial chain from mining and smelting to new materials manufacturing. The Hong Kong platform acted as the liaison point for the Kazakh investment negotiations, financing plan coordination and legal framework setup, highlighting Hong Kong’s vital role in supporting mainland asset-heavy enterprises to expand internationally.
For the first time, two local news bodies, the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong News Executives’ Association, signed an MOU with one of Kazakhstan’s largest state-owned conglomerates to strengthen collaboration in journalism and information exchange. Separately, the South China Morning Post sealed a partnership with Astana International Financial Centre Authority to boost ties between Central Asia, Hong Kong and mainland China, and entered into an agreement with the Autonomous Cluster Fund “Astana Hub”, alongside Gobi Partners and the Khan Tengri Innovation Hub of China, to strengthen economic and business ties.
The visit exemplified a proactive effort and successful practice in cementing Hong Kong’s positioning and fulfilling national missions. The upgrading from a “super-connector” to a “super-value-adder agent,” proactively integrates the “Silk Road Economic Belt,” and strengthening its functional platform role within the “Belt and Road Initiative.” This aligns closely with the national “15th Five-Year Plan” directives.
“Central Asia could be the next Middle East, becoming a terminal connecting Asia and Europe,” the HK Airport Authority chairman Fred Lam told a radio programme, citing the region’s location sitting between the Middle East and Russia, both of whose cargo businesses were disrupted by military conflicts.
Chief Executive John Lee said the trip had numerous achievements, including cooperation at government level, and expediting consultations on signing a comprehensive double taxation avoidance agreement as well as discussions on an investment protection agreement.
Diplomatically, Uzbekistan agreed to set up a consulate in Hong Kong next year.
It is unlikely for Hong Kong to secure immediate gains from the developing Central Asian region but one can argue that a farsighted view is needed. As the offshore renminbi market continues to deepen, Hong Kong can provide diverse support for enterprises in terms of financing, onshore and offshore bond issuance, and cross-border cash management.
Mark Pinkstone
** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **
Next month, on September 3, the world will celebrate Skyscraper Day when Hong Kong is expected to be crowned, again, as the city having the most skyscrapers. According to the Chicago-based Council on Vertical Urbanization, Hong Kong has 596 skyscrapers over 150 meters in height.
The city has been forced to build vertically due to its small land area and dense population and its skyline is among the most renowned in the world thanks to its robust financial sector, international trade connections, and creative urban planning.
Following up is Shenzhen with 444 skyscrapers and New York third with 317. The tallest building in the world is the Buri Khalifa in Dubai reach 828 meters and has 163 floors for hotels, residence, offices, observation decks and communication systems.
The council adds that Skyscraper Day is the ideal time to examine which cities have the most skyscrapers and how they represent advancements in economy and design.
Also, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has weighed in noting that when it comes to soaring skylines and architectural marvels, no country has embraced the vertical revolution quite like China. Hong Kong, along with Shenzhen, and Guangzhou (5th position) are part of a burgeoning megacity known as the Greater Bay Area, which is home to over 1,500 skyscrapers. This is even more impressive when considering that Shenzhen, which now boasts a population of 17 million people, was just a small fishing village until the 1970s.
Looking at this data from another perspective, China actually has more skyscrapers than the rest of the world combined. China has 12 cities, 2777 skyscrapers and 72 supertalls (300-599 meters tall) in the top 20, compared to the rest of the world with 13 cities, 2350 skyscrapers and 67 supertalls.
China’s prominence in the world of skyscrapers—with three cities in the top five globally—is likely to remain unchallenged, especially with the expected dominance of high risers in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis development, slated for completion in 2036.
In Hong Kong, the tallest building is the 484-meter-tall International Commerce Center which has 108 floors for the Ritz Carlton hotel, offices and retail outlets. It is also the 14th tallest building in the world.
This is followed by Two International Finance Center reaching 415 meters and home to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority which is housed from the 77th to 88th floors of the building. And third on the list is Central Plaza in Wanchai which is 374 meters tall with 78 floors of office space. On the 75th floor is a church – iSEE Church, formerly known as the Sky City Church – which is the tallest church in the world.
But tall buildings bring their own problems, especially with urban planning. In this regard, Hong Kong has long addressed the problem of the "Wall Effect" high risers present and instead has transformed its vast skyline into a global leader in sustainable construction.
The Hong Kong Planning Department has introduced strict Urban Design Guidelines and Sustainable Building Standards to break up the long rows of uniform high-rises. Developers are required to leave wide gaps, known as "breezeways," between tall buildings so that these air corridors enable natural sea breezes to flow through, cooling the streets and dispersing vehicle exhaust.
Also, the collaborative effort between the government and the construction industry has established Hong Kong as an internationally recognized hub for green high-rises. New buildings, for example, are required to allocate between 20 and 30 per cent of their site to green spaces, leading to high-rise developments featuring lush sky gardens, green roofs, and vertical planting walls that help absorb heat.
A classic example of this is The Henderson in Hong Kong’s busy central business district, which ranks it among Asia’s greenest skyscrapers, having achieved a top-tier Platinum certification for its smart, zero-carbon cooling systems and resilient layouts.
The certification process was conferred by the LEED global rankings of sustainable and environmental friendly buildings which placed Hong Kong sixth worldwide (and fourth in Asia) for meeting its strict criteria.
The verticalization of Hong Kong is necessary because of severe shortage of land. About 43 per cent of the total land area falls within the protected areas such as country parks, marine parks, wetland, sites of special scientific interest, and water gathering grounds. These areas are either statutorily protected or highly restricted from development. Development can only go up. But this has also bought a premium on land supply and price.
All land in Hong Kong is owned by the government, except where St John’s Cathedral stands, which was granted a freehold in perpetuity to the Church of England in 1847. The government leases and grants land for ownership for long periods of time, generally about 50 years or more. Land is released for development in a timely manner depending on demand generally through auctions. So for the current quarter, only one piece of land for residential use will be offered for sale in Kowloon to provide for some 250 high-rise flats.
The measured land release comes as Hong Kong’s residential market shows signs of recovery after years of downturn and when the government has lowered its land premium revenue target for the 2026-27 financial year to about HK$18 billion (US$2.3 billion).
For the current quarter, supply would also include more than 3,000 units from the first Northern Metropolis large-scale land disposal project in Hung Shui Kiu. The government aims to award the tender during the next week or so.
The Hung Shui Kiu pilot site marked the first land sale under the government’s new large-scale land disposal model for the Northern Metropolis.
Again, all of the once fertile agricultural and fish pond land in the Northern Metropolis will be transformed into a sea of high rise futuristic buildings to keep Hong Kong at the top of the skyscraper ratings for many years to come.
