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Developing Human Resources and
Infrastructure
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| Human Resources
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32. Human resources are the cornerstone of a knowledge-based economy. A developed knowledge-based economy requires world-class universities to nurture talent. Many world-renowned tertiary institutions make use of private donations to enhance university education. To encourage universities in Hong Kong to be more proactive fund-raisers, the Government will set up a $1 billion fund to award matching grants to universities which succeed in securing private donations for purposes other than the construction of campus buildings. Details are being formulated and will be announced by the Education and Manpower Bureau in due course. I will also later propose to raise the ceiling for tax-exempted private donations.
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33. Apart from training local people, we will seek to attract more foreign talent to Hong Kong. The Government announced a population policy a week ago with proposals to ease restrictions on the entry of Mainland professionals and to expand the scope for investment immigration. We believe that, with more professionals coming to Hong Kong, our economic vitality will be enhanced and local consumer spending will increase, thereby bringing more employment opportunities for our citizens.
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34. Another idea to draw in talent is to attract young people to receive basic education here and remain in Hong Kong to further their studies. On completion of their tertiary education, they can apply to stay and make their careers here. This will help to develop our economy and alleviate the problem of an ageing population. Local students can also benefit from an expansion of their horizons through interacting and learning together with students from other places. In this connection, the Government is considering how the relevant policies, including immigration and education, could support such an initiative.
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| Infrastructure
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35. Some consider that the Government should take the opportunity of the current economic downturn to invest substantially in infrastructure. We agree. The Government will press on with projects that yield economic and social benefits to Hong Kong. The average annual provision earmarked for infrastructure works is about
$29 billion over the next five years, similar to that for the past few years.
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36. At the same time, to speed up project delivery, increase opportunities for investment in Hong Kong and further the principle of "big market, small government", we will introduce a list of infrastructure projects for private sector participation on a trial basis. We will invite the private sector to submit expressions of interest on 10 or so recreational and cultural facilities projects worth about $2.5 billion. If private corporations can put forward development packages for individual projects, the Government will consider offering the projects through competitive bidding to the market for development. Depending on market feedback, the format for private sector participation may cover design, build and operate, or other options involving private financing. The Home Affairs Bureau is working on the details. We will consider extending the scheme, if successful, to cover projects under the purview of other bureaux.
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