ACCA welcomes the Hong Kong Five-Year Plan and the Policy Address Supporting a regulatory framework for AI development and intelligentisation

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Hong Kong welcomes the HKSAR Chief Executive's release today of the First Five-Year Plan for Hong Kong (the Hong Kong Five-Year Plan) and the Chief Executive's Policy Address 2026 (the Policy Address). ACCA supports the Chief Executive's vision for Hong Kong's future over the next five years outlined in the Hong Kong Five-Year Plan and the Policy Address, including promoting AI as a key industry for Hong Kong's future development, strengthening Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre, and accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolitan. ACCA highlights that Hong Kong's accounting profession can play a crucial role in providing internationally recognised and accredited services for the development of 'Four Centres and One Hub'.

Development and adoption of AI: The Hong Kong Five-Year Plan and the Policy Address propose ensuring an up-to-date legal environment, with a view to putting in place a regulatory framework that is conducive to the development of AI and intelligentisation in Hong Kong. ACCA strongly supports this initiative, particularly given Hong Kong's unique advantages in its international market ecosystem and the accounting profession in Hong Kong's deep understanding of both Chinese and international accounting standards. Hong Kong can play a role in establishing effective new regulatory arrangements in the international market by developing 'General Rule for AI Application in the Accountancy Profession', covering aspects such as data source legality, model governance responsibility, output transparency, retention of working papers, and the attribution of professional responsibility in human-machine collaboration.

Enhancing international financial centre capabilities: ACCA previously recommended that the Government to promote the synergy between offshore RMB and commodity trading and expand the scale of physical delivery of precious and base metals. ACCA thanks the Chief Executive for accepting the recommendations and for proposing to strengthen the global RMB business hub and build a commodity trading ecosystem in the Hong Kong Five-Year Plan and the Policy Address, stating that the HKEX will announce details of the new RMB-denominated and physically settled gold futures contracts this year to boost the global influence of the RMB in the pricing of precious metals. ACCA recommends that the Government further scales up RMB ETFs and REITs, moving from 'introducing' to 'allocating' capital.

Unlocking Northern Metropolitan and Greater Bay Area Synergy: The Hong Kong Five-Year Plan and the Policy Address propose developing the Northern Metropolis into a main platform for Hong Kong to deeply engage in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and to actively integrate into and serve the overall national development, serving as a new engine for us to develop new quality productive forces. ACCA expressed its support and believes the HKSAR Government can further strengthen cooperation with mainland departments to incorporate corporate import and export, trade, and supply chain operational data into the scope of cross-border flow, and promote mutual recognition of more professional qualifications within the Greater Bay Area.

Wilson Cheng, Chairman of ACCA Hong Kong, said, 'Navigating profound shifts in the global landscape, Hong Kong must proactively align with the national 15th Five-Year Plan. Today's Hong Kong Five-Year Plan and Policy Address delivered by the Chief Executive are pivotal to our city's future. Consolidating Hong Kong's edge across the "Four Centres and One Hub", while accelerating our growth as an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre and talent hub, is intrinsically linked to the accountancy profession. Professional accounting services have evolved beyond back-office support into forward-looking strategic leadership. Our profession plays a crucial role in deepening cross-boundary data flow in the Greater Bay Area, executing green and I&T initiatives in the Northern Metropolis, and expanding offshore RMB alongside commodities trading hubs. ACCA fully backs the government's strategic direction, leveraging our expertise to drive value creation and position Hong Kong as an international benchmark.'

Christina So, Head of ACCA Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area (GBA) Lead, said, 'The development of artificial intelligence (AI) is unstoppable. With its macro-international perspective, ACCA has been actively promoting the application and development of AI. Our redesigned ACCA Qualification, to be officially launched in 2027, will introduce and integrate learning and assessment experiences including AI. To further cultivate relevant talent, ACCA recommends that the Government considers expanding the scope of recognised courses of the Continuing Education Fund (CEF) to include practical courses such as AI and green finance, and extending the funding from physical courses to accredited digital learning platforms, ensuring our talents in Hong Kong maintain a sharp competitive edge.'