Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Li Minbin: Suggests Guangdong and Hong Kong jointly carry out housing acquisition and storage

Southern Finance National Two Sessions Report Team Yu Jixin

As the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area progresses steadily, exchanges between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao are becoming more frequent and deeper in level.

Hong Kong residents traveling north for consumption have become a trend. More and more Hong Kong people are settling in northern cities due to employment and retirement reasons, especially in cities within the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong. This has created new demands for interconnected public services including healthcare, elderly care, and housing. This is also a major opportunity for the Greater Bay Area to leverage policy and market-driven advantages, play a synergistic role, and accelerate economic and social integration.

Data shows that in 2024, there are 537,200 Hong Kong permanent residents who have stayed in Guangdong for more than half a year. Among them, one-fifth, or about 109,900 people, are aged 65 or above. According to the national population census, 70% of Hong Kong residents staying in mainland China live in Guangdong, reflecting increasing integration between the two regions, with the Greater Bay Area becoming the most popular area.

Li Minbin, Deputy Director of the Social and Legal Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Co-CEO of East Asia Bank Limited, shared his policy recommendations on promoting the interconnectedness of public services in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

In Li Minbin’s view, there is still room for improvement in the current state of public service connectivity in the Greater Bay Area.

Healthcare: Healthcare is the most prominent issue faced by Hong Kong residents living in mainland China. Medical records are only interoperable among a few mainland hospitals, drug lists remain inconsistent, and insurance cannot settle cross-border expenses directly. The “Elderly Medical Voucher Pilot Program” in the Greater Bay Area covers limited institutions, and the procedures are still cumbersome. The Hong Kong SAR government subsidizes local public hospitals, keeping costs low, but Hong Kong residents seeking medical care in mainland China often pay out of pocket, with higher costs than in public hospitals in Hong Kong. Cost and service disparities lead many elderly Hong Kong residents in mainland China to prefer returning to Hong Kong for treatment when ill.

Elderly care: Due to proximity, cultural affinity, and cost-effectiveness, elderly Hong Kong residents favor aging in mainland cities within the Greater Bay Area. However, cross-border elderly care faces restrictions related to cross-border transfer of benefits. Under the “Guangdong Elderly Care Service Program,” the SAR government funds accommodation, nursing, and basic medical expenses for participating seniors, paying recognized service providers in Guangdong. However, the program is limited to a few facilities with limited quotas, and there is a shortage of beds in nursing homes for those with poorer health.

Housing: Some Hong Kong residents intending to retire in the north hesitate due to concerns about the possible repossession of public housing units. Housing benefits have not achieved the goal of “money follows the person” or “benefits follow the individual.” Hong Kong grassroots citizens planning to retire in mainland cities within the Greater Bay Area lack support in housing, and may even lose benefits for housing in Hong Kong. Surveys indicate that lack of confidence or information about property purchase or rental in mainland China is a major obstacle for elderly residents returning to live in the Greater Bay Area.

Therefore, Li Minbin recommends that the central government coordinate efforts to improve the connectivity of public services in the Greater Bay Area, which will enhance living convenience and welfare, stimulate mainland consumption, develop elderly care industries, and activate the silver economy, achieving a “win-win” situation.

Specific suggestions include:

1. Expanding successful policies such as mutual recognition of medical records and test results, “Hong Kong-Macao Medical and Drug Access,” “Guangdong Elderly Care Service Program,” and cross-border ambulance services; increasing the acceptance scope of medical vouchers in mainland hospitals; quickly extending new benefits like the “Chronic Disease Co-management Program” for the elderly in Hong Kong to the aging population in the north; exploring a dedicated “cross-border commercial health insurance” connection to the mainland hospital settlement system. Promoting Shenzhen’s “One-Stop Medical Insurance for Hong Kong and Macao Residents” to improve insurance enrollment and renewal efficiency; enhancing cross-border transportation convenience, promoting high-speed rail and bus integration, and seamless customs clearance to facilitate travel for Hong Kong residents.

2. Using policy leverage to encourage private market participation in cross-border elderly care services in the Greater Bay Area. An increasing number of well-off Hong Kong residents are retiring northward, with diverse needs including home-based elderly care, high-end medical, and cultural services. It is recommended that the government introduce policies such as tax incentives and land support to guide private investments, including Hong Kong capital, in building elderly care facilities to achieve economies of scale, boost the mainland economy, and meet Hong Kong residents’ needs. At the same time, careful, forward-looking research is essential as a basis for policy formulation. It is suggested that Hong Kong collaborate with Greater Bay Area cities to conduct comprehensive surveys on Hong Kong residents settling in the north, helping the government plan and deploy policies reasonably, and providing references for investors in the elderly care industry.

3. Joint efforts by Guangdong and Hong Kong to acquire and reserve housing for use as public housing for Hong Kong residents aging in the north. It is recommended that Hong Kong and mainland authorities jointly develop policies to acquire and reserve housing as “offshore public housing,” replacing Hong Kong public housing for those aging in the north. The construction cost of a public housing unit in Hong Kong exceeds 1 million HKD. If construction costs account for a quarter of the total, the total cost can reach 4 million HKD. The same type of housing in mainland cities within the Greater Bay Area can be built at least 50% cheaper. This policy can reduce the financial burden on the SAR government, free up local public housing supply, and provide housing security for Hong Kong residents aging in the north, improving their welfare.

(Edited by: Wen Jing)