Mega events to show HK's true side, says Paul Chan
Mega events are a way to present Hong Kong's actual situation to people around the world and showcase the territory's advantages as an international financial centre, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Thursday.  Three events will take place back-to-back in the SAR during the Financial Mega Event Week from March 25 to 27.  They include the Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit for attracting family offices, the Global Investors' Symposium organised by US-based think tank Milken Institute, and the inaugural One Earth Summit.  Other cultural and sports mega events will also be held around the same period, such as Art Basel and the Hong Kong Sevens.  The finance chief said the events will showcase the city's competitive edge, development potential and investment opportunities. Chan said people who visited the city in the past year described the SAR as open, free and prosperous, which he said was "very different from the Hong Kong painted by overseas media".  "Through these events, we can invite visitors to come to Hong Kong, to show them what Hong Kong is really like, so that they can experience Hong Kong, and the fact that Hong Kong is a pluralistic, energetic city, it is also a metropolis offering a quality and safe living environment," he said.  "Inviting visitors to come to Hong Kong is one of the best ways to tell the good stories of Hong Kong, because seeing is believing."  Director-General of Investment Promotion Alpha Lau said over 100 family office representatives have been invited to the SAR for an upcoming forum on drawing wealthy families to the city.  She also said a newly introduced cash-for-residency plan has seen hundreds of enquiries. Under the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, applicants will need to invest a minimum of HK$30 million and they will be allowed to bring their dependents to Hong Kong.  "We've got a lot of interest from particularly Southeast Asia, Korea and beyond," Lau told reporters.  "They are hoping that they could make use of Hong Kong, not only for a good place for a wide selection of investments, they could also use the opportunity to get residency and the opportunity for them and their second generation to have an alternative, stable environment to settle down in."  Lau dismissed suggestions that overseas businesses are reluctant to come to the SAR, saying there was a 27 percent increase in the number of companies settling in Hong Kong in 2023.