Hong Kong welcomes more than 40,000 visitors from mainland China after border controls loosened
- Financial Secretary Paul Chan says quarantine-free travel across the border boosts faith in city among international financial institutions
- Chan promises to highlight Hong Kong’s advantages to business leaders at World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland this week
More than 40,000 mainland Chinese visitors have travelled to Hong Kong in the week since its land border opened up, double the number logged the week before, the Post has found.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Sunday said quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and the mainland had boosted faith in the city among international financial institutions, despite the volatile global economic environment.
He explained that delegates to last week’s Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong had been upbeat about the city.
“They affirmed Hong Kong’s unique role as a bridge connecting the mainland and the world, and as a base linking up Asian markets,” Chan wrote in his blog.
“Their visit has boosted their confidence in Hong Kong, allowing them to actively consider and plan to beef up investment and expand the scale of operations in Hong Kong.”
Immigration Department figures showed that Hong Kong had a total of 46,343 mainland visitors across the land border in the last seven days, a 125 per cent increase compared with the 20,517 the previous week.
The increase came after the mainland pivoted away from its long-standing dynamic zero-Covid policy and lifted its quarantine mandate from January 8.
The West Kowloon terminus was the latest border control point to reopen on Sunday after seven others resumed operations in the wake of the return of quarantine-free cross-border travel.
The city handled about 717,695 arrivals and departures through all entry points, including the airport, an 80 per cent increase over the previous seven days.
There were 334,208 incoming and 383,487 outgoing visitors at the seven operational checkpoints between January 8 and 14.
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Hong Kong has a 50,000-a-day quota for people headed to the mainland through land checkpoints, with 35,000 of the spots allocated to the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line.
Authorities on Saturday further increased it to 65,000 for the four days before the Lunar New Year break to cope with the expected increase in demand.
Chan left for the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Saturday and promised to highlight the city’s gradual opening up and the opportunities Hong Kong offered.
The theme of this year’s forum, which starts on Monday, is “Cooperation in a Fragmented World”.
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Chan warned on his blog that the global economic environment would remain volatile because of increased debt, a slowdown in growth and weakened investment confidence among the major economies.
“How to insist on promoting better cooperation among countries facing geopolitical tensions, so that the global economy can develop in a sustainable, more resilient and inclusive direction, is indeed a challenge,” he said.
He added that the creation of a fresh image to bring new opportunities and developments to Hong Kong and attracting investment and talent complemented each other.
