HKETO, Washington DC Promotes Hong Kong as "Super Connector" of Asia and the world

HKETO, Washington DC promotes Hong Kong as "super connector" of Asia and the world

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington, DC, (HKETO, Washington, DC), hosted on June 11 (Washington time) a briefing on Hong Kong's role as a "super connector" of Asia and the world.

Aimed at recent graduates and interns, the briefing, titled "Hong Kong: 'Super-connector' of Asia and the World", was co-organised with the US-Asia Institute for college students and recent graduates interning or working at various organisations in Washington, DC.

The Director of the HKETO, Washington DC, Ms Elania Luk, provided a comprehensive overview of Hong Kong's development. "Youths today are leaders of tomorrow. Through today's event, we hope to help participants gain an understanding about Hong Kong's unique position and value proposition, which will hopefully come in handy in their future career development," said Ms Luk.

"Dating back from our humble beginnings as a fishing village in the 1800s, Hong Kong is no stranger to international trade. Hong Kong has long played a pivotal role connecting Asia and the world," said Ms Luk. "With unique advantages such as a free economy, unparalleled access to the Chinese Mainland market, connectivity with Asia and the world, free flow of capital and information, a simple tax regime, and common law system, Hong Kong has long welcomed the international community to leverage our city as a platform for trade and business development."

Ms Luk also shared Hong Kong's prominent position as an international centre for finance, trade, maritime transportation, aviation, dispute resolution, regional intellectual property trading, East-meets-West international cultural exchanges, and innovation and technology. She also introduced Hong Kong movies, Cantopop music, and food culture.

"We welcome friends from all over the world to experience Hong Kong's vibrant atmosphere," said Ms Luk. Ms Luk also encouraged attendees to consider Hong Kong as a way to accelerate their continued education and career trajectories. She highlighted that Hong Kong is home to five of the world's top 100 universities and that the Hong Kong Government has introduced a series of initiatives to attract and support quality overseas talent.

Following Ms Luk's remarks, Senior Analyst at The Eurasia Group Mr Dominic Chiu spoke on United States-China relations and the implications to business environments across Asia, including in Hong Kong.

Attendees also viewed an exhibition of curated paintings under the theme of "Blossoming Hong Kong". The paintings were commissioned by the Social Welfare Department under the Arts Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities, in collaboration with various non-governmental organisations. The commissioning of the paintings illustrates Hong Kong's efforts to unleash the potential of persons with disabilities in artistic activities and spotlight their contributions to society.

Guests enjoyed an exhibit of artworks commissioned by the Social Welfare Department under the Arts Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities, in collaboration with various non-governmental organisations. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

College students and recent graduates who are interning or working at various organisations in Washington DC participated in the lively discussion at the event. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Senior analyst at The Eurasia Group Mr Dominic Chiu, spoke on United States-China relations and the implications to business environments across Asia, including in Hong Kong. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade office in Washington, DC, Ms Elania Luk, provided a comprehensive overview of Hong Kong's development. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade office in Washington, DC, Ms Elania Luk, provided a comprehensive overview of Hong Kong's development. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Health Bureau releases Hong Kong's Domestic Health Accounts 2024/25

The Health Bureau (HHB) released Hong Kong's Domestic Health Accounts (DHA) 2024/25 today (Aug 26), together with revised figures for previous years adjusted in accordance with international practice to incorporate the latest available information. The DHA provides a systematic description of the flow of health expenditure in Hong Kong over a 12-month period, forming a basis for assessing and understanding the levels and trends of health spending in Hong Kong.

The Health Bureau, Photo source: reference image

Overall speaking, the trend of health expenditure for 2024/25 remained steady. The Current Health Expenditure (CHE) in Hong Kong was $262,513 million, representing an increase of 5.0 per cent (or $12,491 million) over a year earlier. The CHE as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 8.2 per cent, similar to that of last year. The CHE per capita was $34,890.

Public healthcare expenditure ($135,450 million) accounted for 51.6 per cent of the CHE in 2024/25, and public CHE per capita was $18,000. Public CHE as a percentage of GDP was 4.2 per cent, similar to that of last year. Over the past 10 years, both CHE and public CHE in Hong Kong as a percentage of GDP showed an upward trend in general.

As for private healthcare expenditure ($127,063 million), it accounted for 48.4 per cent of the CHE in Hong Kong, or 3.9 per cent as a percentage of GDP, in 2024/25.

Photo source: reference image

The Government has been actively advancing primary healthcare reform in accordance with the directions set out in the Primary Healthcare Blueprint, gradually shifting the emphasis of the healthcare system from treatment-focused secondary and tertiary care to prevention-oriented, family doctor-centred primary healthcare. Since its establishment, the Primary Healthcare Commission has not only continued to expand the district health network, but has also been continuously enhancing and promoting the Chronic Disease Co-Care Scheme. In 2024/25, the primary healthcare expenditure accounted for 30.4 per cent of the overall CHE, and is progressing towards the Blueprint's objective of achieving a better balance between primary and secondary/tertiary care in overall healthcare expenditure, such as around 3.5:6.5 or even 4:6, in the long run. This reflects that the Government is gradually establishing a more sustainable healthcare system to cope with challenges posed by an ageing population, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and more.

The DHA is compiled in accordance with the guidelines given in "A System of Health Accounts 2011" collaboratively published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Eurostat and the World Health Organization. It classifies the overall health expenditure into four dimensions of analysis, namely Health Care Financing Schemes (HFS), Revenues of HFS, Health Care Providers and Health Care Functions. These data enable policymakers, researchers and members of the public to assess the performance of the Hong Kong health system over time and to make comparisons with other economies that adopt the same framework in calculating their health expenditure.

Photo source: reference image

The DHA 2024/25 has been uploaded to the HHB website (www.healthbureau.gov.hk/statistics/en/dha.htm). Detailed classifications and time-series data are shown in an online interactive data dashboard with tables and graphs available to facilitate further analysis and research.