Blog

Tonight, I will depart for Davos, Switzerland, to attend the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum. This year’s Meeting will bring together around 3,000 political and business leaders, as well as representatives from think tanks, non-governmental organisations and academia from over 100 countries and regions to discuss the challenges currently facing the international community. During the Meeting, I will engage with political and business leaders from around the world to exchange views on the global economy, deliver public speeches and participate in thematic discussions. I will also take the opportunity to promote the new opportunities that Hong Kong will embrace under the national 15th Five-Year Plan.

The upcoming Budget will be delivered on 25 February, and the public consultation has been underway for nearly a month. During this period, we have actively been engaging with representatives from various sectors and industries, as well as with organisations and members of the public, to listen to their views and suggestions. Yesterday, I participated in RTHK's programme "Voices from the Hall", where I engaged directly with residents from diverse backgrounds to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their concerns and ideas. We also had open and candid discussions on the current internal and external environment, as well as the challenges facing Hong Kong.

As we entered 2026, the Hang Seng Index saw a strong start on the first trading day, surging over 700 points – or 2.8% – marking its best opening performance since 2013. Innovation and technology (I&T) companies led the market rally, with the Hang Seng TECH Index climbing by 4%. Many artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks continued to attract strong investor interest.