Hong Kong SAR celebrates 28th anniversary of establishment

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.Coming up on today’s programHong Kong celebrates the 28th anniversary of its return to the motherland, with CE stressing the city to be “reformer”;China’s box office hits 29 billion yuan in first half of 2025, with "Ne Zha 2" concluding China run with over 15 billion yuan.Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee has underscored the importance of carrying out reforms instead of being complacent, while urging Hong Kong to grasp opportunities to shine on the international stage.In an address marking the 28th anniversary of the SAR's establishment on Tuesday, he said opportunities for the city outweighed challenges."We would rather be reformers who rise to challenges than become complacent idlers. Amid an ever-changing geopolitical landscape and constantly increasing uncertainties, Hong Kong is able to showcase exactly to the world the certainties of safety, stability and development opportunities," he said.Outlining his vision for Hong Kong's future, the city chief pledged to balance high-quality development and security, fast-track the Northern Metropolis project and address livelihood issues.Since the return of Hong Kong to the motherland 28 years ago, with the solid support of the central government and the continuous financial opening-up in the Chinese mainland, the attractiveness of Hong Kong as an international financial hub has continued to rise. According to statistics from the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, the capitalization of the Hong Kong stock market reached about HKD43 trillion on Friday, 13.4-fold from HKD3.2 trillion at the end of 1997.Hong Kong's financial market boasts mature institutions, transparent regulation, and free capital flows. Backed by strong support from the central government, it has emerged as a key asset allocation platform for global investors.According to Deloitte China, the Hong Kong stock market held the No.1 spot in global fundraising in the first half of this year, with a total of HKD102.1 billion, followed by the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange.With more innovative enterprises and new-economy companies listing in the city, coupled with the continuous expansion of the Stock Connect mechanism, Hong Kong's competitiveness in attracting high-quality businesses and global capital will continue to grow steadily, experts noted.In terms of connectivity between the mainland and Hong Kong, with the rollout of initiatives such as the Stock Connect, Bond Connect, Swap Connect, Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect, and the newly-launched cross-boundary Payment Connect linking users in the mainland and Hong Kong, two-way opening-up has continued to deepen, contributing to the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong's financial market.As part of the July 1 celebrations, the city offers free rides and free museum visits to residents and visitors alike. Over 3,800 restaurants and merchants will also offer special promotions, with most eateries allowing patrons to pay only 71 percent of the original price, echoing the date.GBA expressGuangdong province’s total trade with the Hong Kong SAR totaled CNY470.77 billion in the first five months of 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of 7.8 percent, official data showed on Monday. Guangdong remained Hong Kong’s largest trading partner on the Chinese mainland, accounting for 50 percent of the mainland’s total trade with the SAR. Conversely, Hong Kong ranked as Guangdong’s second-largest trading partner, contributing 12.6 percent to the province’s total trade volume.Monday marked the one-year opening of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, handling more than 31.5 million vehicle trips in its first year of operation, averaging 86,000 vehicles per day. As the world's first cross-sea cluster project that includes a bridge, island, tunnel, and underwater interchange, the 24-kilometer-long link connects Shenzhen, Zhongshan, and Guangzhou and enhances the integration of the one-hour traffic circle of the Greater Bay Area.TF International Securities Group Ltd is seeking regulatory approval to offer a wide range of virtual asset-linked services in Hong Kong and kick-start growth outside the traditional brokerage business, media reports, citing a person familiar with the matter. The firm, a wholly owned unit of Shanghai-listed Tianfeng Securities, recently applied to the Hong Kong SFC to provide virtual asset in/out services, enabling investors to deposit and withdraw cryptocurrencies rather than traditional currencies when dealing in virtual assets, said the person.  Industry and company newsChina's box office exceeded CNY29.2 billion in the first half of this year, a 22.91 percent year-on-year increase, with more than half raked in by animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2", followed by Detective Chinatown 1900 and Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force, according to China Film Administration. "Ne Zha 2" concluded its theatrical run in the Chinese mainland by the end of Monday, raking in total box office of 15.44 billion yuan with 324 million admissions, making it the most-watched and highest-grossing film ever in China.China is expected to see 953 million railway passenger trips during the upcoming summer travel rush, which kicks off on Tuesday and last for 62 days until Aug. 31. The figure is 5.8 percent higher than the number of railway passenger trips recorded in the summer travel rush in 2024, China State Railway Group said on Monday. Finance, taxation, and commerce authorities on Monday unveiled a tax incentive granting foreign investors a 10 percent corporate income tax credit on direct domestic investments funded by dividends from Chinese resident companies. The measure, which takes effect from Jan 1, 2025 through Dec 31, 2028, allows unused credits to be carried forward and applies lower rates under existing tax treaties. Meanwhile, China yesterday granted USD3.08 billion in investment quotas to eligible QDII to meet the demand for overseas asset allocation and further support the institutions in conducting cross-border investment activities.Asia-Pacific highlightsIn the first half of 2025, the cross-border transport handled by China-Laos Railway hit a record high. According to the Mohan border in Yunnan Province, the Mohan railway port had processed more than 145,000 inbound and outbound passenger trips as of Monday, marking year-on-year increases of 16 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. More than 4,400 cross-border trains were processed, up 6.4 percent year-on-year. Among the travelers, foreign nationals accounted for some 18.7 percent, a 14.4 percent increase from the previous year. Notably, more than 53 percent of these foreign arrivals entered under visa-free policies, up 6.2 percent. The top three nationalities were travelers from Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia.Eve Energy, a major Chinese battery producer, said it will invest CNY8.7 billion to build an energy storage battery factory in Kulim, Malaysia after announcing plans to construct a second plant there less than a year ago. The new plant will take no more than two and a half years to build, Eve Energy said, without disclosing the annual production capacity.Flights between Kunming in China's Yunnan Province, and Mandalay in Myanmar resumed on Sunday, restoring a key route that had been suspended after a powerful earthquake in March, according to China Eastern Airlines.