Policy Address

48.       We need dedicated leadership and stronger policy co-ordination for more effective organisation of work among the Government, industry, academia and the research sector.  To this end, we are working to set up an Innovation and Technology Bureau and have submitted our proposal to this Council.

49.       The latest Digital 21 Strategy envisions that the Government will make wider use of sensors, the Internet of Things and big data analytics for better public services and sustainable social and economic growth.

50.       We intend to use Kowloon East as a pilot area to explore the feasibility of developing a Smart City.

Dispute Resolution Services

51.       Hong Kong's tradition of the rule of law and our legal system are conducive to the development of legal and dispute resolution services.  Last year, the China Maritime Arbitration Commission established an office in Hong Kong, its first branch office outside the Mainland.  The Central Government and the HKSAR Government have recently signed the Host Country Agreement and the related Memorandum of Administrative Arrangements respectively with the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the conduct of dispute settlement proceedings in Hong Kong by the court.

52.       Renowned arbitration institutions such as the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission and the China Maritime Arbitration Commission have set up offices in Hong Kong in recent years.  With increasing maritime activities in Asia, maritime arbitration services have immense potential for growth.  Arbitration awards made in Hong Kong are enforceable in the jurisdictions of over 150 contracting states of the New York Convention, and also in the Mainland and Macao.  We will actively further advance development in this area.

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