GS1 Hong Kong’s Response to the 2026–27 Budget (Translated Version)
Building an Interconnected Ecosystem for Innovation and Green Growth with Global Data Standards
GS1 Hong Kong welcomes the Financial Secretary’s announcement of the 2026–27 Budget. With the theme "Driving High-quality, Inclusive Growth with Innovation and Finance", the Budget closely aligns with the nation’s 15th Five Year Plan and charts a clear path for Hong Kong’s high quality economic development. We are particularly encouraged by the Government’s strategic initiatives to support SMEs, help enterprises “Go Global,” promote the digital economy, advance green development, and strengthen smart supply chains.
At a critical time marked by geopolitical uncertainty and the continued reshaping of global supply chains, Hong Kong—serving as a “super connector” with its unique advantage of being “internally connected (integration with mainland China) and externally linked (globally connected)”—is well positioned to seize opportunities and establish itself as a leading global supply chain hub. To achieve this goal, Hong Kong must provide enterprises with the most flexible and business friendly operating environment and policy support, enabling them to move forward steadily in this new era. This vision aligns closely with GS1 Hong Kong’s long standing mission to drive industry digitalisation through global data standards and to help enterprises connect with international markets.
Empowering SMEs to Capture New Opportunities in Digital Transformation
We welcome the Budget’s additional HKD 200 million injection into the BUD Fund, the increase in the funding cap under the Easy BUD, and the provision of targeted subsidies to support enterprises in adopting AI. These measures will encourage SMEs to better leverage government resources to accelerate upgrading and transformation, particularly by using AI technologies to enhance operational efficiency and expand market reach.
At the same time, the optimisation of the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme and the extension of the “80% Guarantee Product and principal moratorium arrangement” application period provide timely support for enterprises facing cash flow pressure. These initiatives are crucial to stabilising business confidence during the economic recovery.
Since the launch of the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme (DTSPP) in 2024, funding has been approved for nearly 8,800 SMEs. Beneficiaries have reported reduced operating costs, improved efficiency, and increased customer numbers. We look forward to the early rollout of the next phase of the programme and once again recommend expanding eligibility to more industries, so that more SMEs can benefit from digital transformation and realise tangible business value from digital technologies.
Supporting Hong Kong Products to Expand into International and Mainland Markets through Traceability Based Trust
The Budget proposes launching a unified new brand for high quality local fisheries and agricultural products, supported by certification, testing, and traceability mechanisms, to facilitate customs clearance for Hong Kong made food products. These initiatives are particularly important to our many member companies in the food sector.
We hope the Government will further extend this model to a broader range of Hong Kong products beyond fisheries and agriculture, enabling more “Hong Kong brands” to expand globally. Whether in building brand credibility or facilitating smoother customs clearance, a transparent and trusted traceability system is essential. Only when every step is traceable can regulators and consumers alike have confidence.
Hong Kong is internationally recognised for its testing and certification services and enjoys strong global credibility. This positions the city well to leverage its strengths to help Hong Kong products build brand reputation and market trust.
Looking ahead, we hope that in formulating the “Hong Kong’s Five Year Plan,” the Government will make good use of Hong Kong’s testing and certification strengths by planning the adoption of international standard based QR codes to digitally display product information—such as test certificates, traceability records, and authenticity verification—thereby enhancing product credibility and consumer confidence, telling the Hong Kong product story, and helping brands go global.
As a key promoter of supply chain standards in Hong Kong, GS1 Hong Kong will continue to support enterprises in overcoming geographical boundaries by using reliable traceability data to bring Hong Kong product standards into the Mainland and international markets, and to assist more enterprises in “Going Global.”
Actively Promoting Trade Finance to Support Enterprises Going Global
The Budget proposes establishing a cross sector professional services platform to support outbound enterprises, fully leveraging Hong Kong’s role as a “super connector.” For enterprises expanding into overseas markets, access to financing is a critical factor, and trade finance plays a pivotal supporting role.
We welcome the Government’s follow up on the recommendations of the CargoX Expert Group to promote Hong Kong as a leading global trade finance and supply chain hub. GS1 Hong Kong is honoured to serve as a trade data provider in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s CargoX project research group. By combining enterprise transaction data from GS1 ezTRADE with cargo and logistics data, banks are able to use reliable alternative data for credit assessment.
We will continue working closely with the HKMA and industry partners to integrate globally adopted data standards into the trade finance ecosystem. We will also actively explore incorporating company and product information to further expand the CDI database, and even provide trade analytics for bank credit assessments, helping enterprises expand their overseas businesses more smoothly.
Only High Quality, Trusted Data Can Unlock AI’s Full Potential
We welcome the Budget’s elevation of “AI+” to a strategic level. From establishing a strategic committee and strengthening computing infrastructure, to promoting AI training for the public and applying AI across government departments to enhance public services, the Government has demonstrated a strong commitment to embracing AI comprehensively.
Beyond building a solid data foundation, helping enterprises become “AI ready” is equally important. To maximise AI’s effectiveness, computing power alone is not enough. Only by adopting international standards can fragmented information be transformed into structured, high quality, and trustworthy data, enabling AI to accurately interpret, link, and analyse information and thereby unlock its full potential.
GS1 Hong Kong will continue to offer training programmes and exchange activities covering AI, digital transformation, and related areas. Through talent development, technology networks, and data applications, we aim to equip enterprises across multiple dimensions, enabling them to fully harness AI—supported by accurate and interoperable data—in areas such as demand forecasting, warehouse automation, and last mile delivery, achieving genuine intelligent transformation.
Smart Logistics and Supply Chains
The Budget’s initiatives to promote smart logistics and supply chain development—covering hardware infrastructure, software support, and talent training—are highly commendable.
On the intermodal front, the Government will launch the launch the Future Innovative Logistics Acceleration Scheme within the year to drive industry transformation and logistics data interconnectivity, while actively developing an integrated “rail sea land river” transport system. Only when cargo information can flow seamlessly across different transport modes, with full traceability at every step, can the true benefits of multimodal transport be realised—this aligns precisely with our direction in promoting the adoption of global data standards.
At the port level, we support accelerating the integration of the GS1 Global Product Registry into the Port Community System (PCS) platform, enabling government departments, customs authorities, transport operators, and enterprises to verify company and product information through the platform. This will not only enhance the accuracy and efficiency of trade declarations and strengthen cargo traceability, but also align with China Customs’ requirement for GTIN barcode based import declarations (covering all e commerce goods and six categories of bulk cargo), enabling seamless cross border information exchange with the Mainland’s Single Window system.
Advancing a Green Future: Reliable Data Is the Key
In alignment with the national “dual carbon” goals, the Budget promotes the development of green industries and corporate green transformation by implementing the Hong Kong Sustainability Disclosure Standards, enhancing the sustainable finance taxonomy, and aiming to formulate banking guidelines for green transition within the year. We believe these measures lay an important foundation for the development of green finance in Hong Kong.
At the same time, international markets are imposing increasingly stringent requirements on product transparency. The EU’s Digital Product Passport (DPP) regulation is set to be fully implemented, requiring all products exported to the EU to provide standardised environmental footprint data, including material composition, supply chain traceability, carbon footprint, and recycling information.
The industry is actively exploring the use of internationally recognised data standards to integrate product compliance information, ESG data, and supply chain traceability records into QR codes, meeting regulatory disclosure requirements while enhancing supply chain transparency. This closely echoes the Budget’s direction on promoting green transformation—by establishing a transparent and standardised data foundation, enterprises can not only comply with regulations when expanding into international markets, but also transform green data into a competitive advantage for accessing green finance and enhancing brand credibility, accelerating Hong Kong’s low carbon transition.
Conclusion
Overall, the 2026–27 Budget is a forward looking and pragmatic blueprint. In the face of shifting global dynamics, Hong Kong must adopt more flexible policies and foster a more open ecosystem to seize the golden opportunity of becoming a leading global supply chain hub.
GS1 Hong Kong will continue to work hand in hand with industry partners in alignment with government policy directions. Through the promotion of global data standards and talent development, we will empower SMEs in digital transformation, advance smart supply chain upgrades, enhance trade finance and green data infrastructure, and jointly consolidate Hong Kong’s leading position as a global supply chain hub.
— End —
