HK Leader Bets on Ambitious Tech Hub in Bid to Diversify Economy

Hong Kong’s leader made his most forceful push yet to speed up the development of a tech hub along its northern border, a project that looks to deepen the financial hub’s integration with China and diversify the local economy.

Chief Executive John Lee said he will lead a new high-level committee to expedite the plan for the so-called Northern Metropolis at his annual policy speech on Wednesday. He vowed to slash red tape and introduce new laws to “fast-track” development of an area almost three times the size of Paris, hoping to turn it into a new growth driver.