In Hong Kong, elections are held every four years to elect members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) in accordance with Article 69 of the Basic Law. The next election for the eighth-term LegCo will be held on Dec 7.

The legitimacy of LegCo comes from it conforming to Hong Kong’s constitutional status as a special administrative region of China, as stipulated in the Basic Law. That means the election of its members must be held in strict accordance with the mechanism prescribed by the Basic Law and the relevant decisions made by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, which has the final power to interpret the Basic Law.

Also, under the Basic Law, LegCo’s functions are to enact, amend or repeal laws; approve taxation and public expenditures; raise questions on the work of the government; and receive and handle complaints from Hong Kong residents.

As we can see, a functional legislature can significantly contribute to Hong Kong’s prosperity and well-being by enacting bills that are necessary for sustaining the city’s development and prosperity.

I would like to put my focus on innovation and why these LegCo elections matter so much for Hong Kong from an innovation standpoint. Indeed, the elections offer more than a routine selection of lawmakers; they present a timely opportunity for Hong Kong to reaffirm and accelerate its ambition to become a leading innovation and fintech hub in Asia.

With a regulatory, infrastructural and talent agenda already in motion through frameworks such as Fintech 2030 and the Northern Metropolis development, the outcome and postelection momentum of LegCo can play a decisive role in whether Hong Kong realizes its innovation potential in the coming decade.

The case for Hong Kong as an innovation powerhouse rests on three interconnected pillars: regulatory clarity and forward-looking legislation; large-scale infrastructural and spatial ambition; and strong governmental-industry coordination that incentivizes private capital, talent and global partnerships. The composition of LegCo will shape how swiftly and effectively these pillars are advanced. A legislative body aligned with innovation ambition, equipped to enact enabling laws, and that provides oversight and guiding strategies, can tilt the odds in favor of more innovation.

The upcoming LegCo elections are not simply about representation but about orientation: the orientation of Hong Kong’s legislative framework, regulatory regime and institutional ambitions with respect to innovation

Regulation and legislation are key to advancing Hong Kong’s Fintech 2030 blueprint, which focuses on data; payments infrastructure; artificial intelligence in finance; resilience; and asset tokenization. Implementing these goals will require updates to legal frameworks, incentives, sandbox regimes, and cross-border oversight. A capable LegCo can accelerate legislation and ensure progress, while a lack of action could leave these ambitions stuck at the draft or pilot stage.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, moving from an earlier horizon of Fintech 2025 into a bold Fintech 2030 era, shows both ambition and maturity. The earlier phase was about adoption, digitization and laying the groundwork; now the agenda is about embedding truly transformative infrastructure, creating new asset classes, connecting across borders, and building resilience in a world where technology and finance increasingly interweave. The transition reflects a savvy reading of global trends: Risk is higher, the pace is faster, and competitive advantage will go to those who combine innovation with institutional strength. Among the many exciting projects in which Hong Kong is currently involved, the Northern Metropolis is undoubtedly among the ones with the highest potential. The Northern Metropolis has the potential to cement Hong Kong’s role as an innovation hub as the second major axis of innovation ambition in the city and is one of the main sources of future housing land supply, integrating life quality, industrial development, culture and leisure, and promoting a better home-work balance and green living. It’s close to Shenzhen’s metropolitan core and the base of the innovation and technology industry with the greatest development momentum, and has seven land-based boundary control points, forging an essential platform for cooperation with other Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area cities. The entire Northern Metropolis, with a total area of 30,000 hectares (slightly less than one-third of the total area of Hong Kong), will eventually develop to accommodate about 2.5 million residents and provide around 650 000 jobs. 

The legislative elections matter here because many of the enabling laws for land-use, development vehicles, infrastructure rollout, funding mechanisms and institutional governance will flow through LegCo. A legislature aligned with and devoted to advancing this project can ensure that development vision is matched by legal frameworks, timely approvals and coordinated oversight. In short, the Northern Metropolis sends the clear message that Hong Kong is building not only a fintech city, but an innovation metropolis, and the upcoming elections can help give that effort the momentum it needs.

Beyond these two domains, the elections matter because innovative ecosystems flourish when there is coherence among policy, legislation, financing and execution. Investors and innovators look for certainty, clarity, and alignment across government agencies and institutions. The outcome of the election will influence LegCo’s tone on innovation: Will it favor enabling frameworks, competitive incentives, global integration, and regulatory agility? The stakes are high: Global fintech hubs, new asset classes, tokenization platforms and regional innovation clusters are all vying for leadership right now. Hong Kong cannot afford to reposition itself halfway.

Hong Kong not only remains one of the world’s most important financial centers but has the potential to enhance its position, thanks to its international role, expertise in finance and related industries, and tapping into newer industries like Web3, all this amid the city’s involvement in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and other projects. But, in order for Hong Kong to remain so important, it needs to keep innovating. The upcoming LegCo elections are not simply about representation but about orientation: the orientation of Hong Kong’s legislative framework, regulatory regime and institutional ambitions with respect to innovation. By aligning the legislature, the blueprint of Fintech 2030 and the spatial horizon of the Northern Metropolis, Hong Kong can turn these parallel efforts into a competitive agenda.

The author is a fintech adviser, a researcher and a former business analyst for a Hong Kong publicly listed company.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.