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Budget: Accelerating Development through Reform and Innovation

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Mr Chan

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, unveiled today his 2025-26 Budget. He noted that while geopolitical situation might bring risks, technology reform and artificial intelligence (AI) development are remoulding the global landscape, leading to the emergence of new industries, new forms of business, new products and new services. He stressed that Hong Kong must seize the opportunity to make the most out of this critical window to speed up development, establishing the new before abolishing the old. He also emphasised that transformation and innovation will lead the way into the future, and the Government is poised to fast-track the high-quality development of Hong Kong’s economy.
 
The Budget presents a series of measures aimed at accelerating the cultivation of new quality productive forces. On innovation and technology (I&T), the Government will promote Hong Kong into an international exchange and co-operation hub for the AI industry. Through frontier research and real-world application, the Government will endeavour to develop AI as a core industry and empower traditional industries in their upgrading and transformation. To spearhead and support Hong Kong’s innovative research and development as well as industrial application of AI, the Government will establish the Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute and launch the Pilot Manufacturing and Production Line Upgrade Support Scheme (Manufacturing+). On finance, the Government will continue to take forward reforms to the listing regime, host the Hong Kong Global Financial and Industry Summit, and formulate a plan this year on promoting gold market development.
 
To seize the opportunities brought about by the rapid advancement of innovation and technology, the Budget highlights the need to accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis, which is an investment in Hong Kong’s future. The Government will continue to accord priority to providing resources for this initiative, which primarily includes providing large tracts of I&T land at the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, together with San Tin Technopole; adopting an innovative mindset in piloting “large-scale land disposal”; developing a data facility cluster at Sandy Ridge; as well as identifying suitable sites in the Northern Metropolis for the construction of conference and exhibition facilities.

On the promotion of tourism, funding will be allocated to pursue the concept of “tourism is everywhere” and implement the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0. A study will be conducted on the development of the waterfront and former sites to the south of the Hung Hom Station into a new harbourfront landmark, including a yacht club.

Regarding land supply, Mr Chan announced that the Government will not roll out any commercial site for sale in the coming year in view of the high vacancy rates of offices in recent years to allow the market to absorb the existing supply. The Government will also consider rezoning some of the commercial sites into residential use and allowing greater flexibility of land use. To tie in with the relevant work, the deadline for completing in-situ land exchange for commercial sites in the town centre of the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area will be extended.

Mr Chan proposed a reinforced version of the fiscal consolidation programme to focus on strictly controlling government expenditure, supplemented by increasing revenue, to restore fiscal balance in the Operating Account, in a planned and progressive manner, within the current term of the Government. For 2025-26, the executive authorities, the legislature, the judiciary and members of the District Councils, including members of the civil service, take a pay freeze. The Government will step up the Productivity Enhancement Programme; compared with 2023-24, the recurrent expenditure in 2027-28 will record a cumulative reduction by 7 per cent and deliver a saving of $27.3 billion. By April 2027, about 10 000 posts of the civil service establishment are expected to be deleted within this term of Government. The Government will also deliver more efficient public services to citizens through leveraging technology, streamlining processes and driving the digital transformation of public services. In the Budget, it is proposed to adjust two transport subsidy schemes, namely putting forward the “$2 flat rate cum 80 per cent discount” in the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities ($2 Scheme), and raising the threshold for receiving the subsidy under the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme from $400 to $500, with the prevailing subsidy cap at $400 per month remaining unchanged. He will uphold the “user pays” and the “affordable users pay” principles as far as practicable while increasing revenue, including increasing the air passenger departure tax, and reviewing the tolls of government tunnels and trunk roads. The Government will suitably expand the size of bond issuance on the premise of maintaining healthy public finances and use the funds raised on infrastructure works in a proper and flexible manner to invest in Hong Kong’s future and create value for society.

Mr Chan concluded that he has full confidence in and high expectations for the future of Hong Kong, because Hong Kong people are intelligent, creative and tireless in contributing to the economic development. More importantly, he is confident due to the staunch and unwavering support received from the country and Hong Kong people’s profound insight into the major development trends of the future, as well as the city’s enviable and advantageous position.

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Anomali to Address the Next Phase of AI-Led Cyber Defense at GISEC 2026

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Anomali, the leading global Managed Intelligence and Agentic SOC platform, announced its participation at GISEC Global 2026, taking place through 16-18 September at Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC), Expo City.

The company’s discussions at GISEC will center on Autonomous SOC with Governed AI, Agentic AI, Actionable Threat Intelligence and Unified Security Data Lake capabilities that are changing the manner in which security teams investigate threats, manage workflows and make decisions.

Samer Jadallah, Vice President, Middle East & Africa at Anomali, will represent the company at GISEC and will focus on the growing impact of AI on both attackers and defenders, emerging shifts in the threat landscape, including the need to counter CEO impersonation attacks as well as key challenges facing modern security teams. He will also highlight AI’s role is helping organizations respond more effectively to evolving threats, Anomali’s commitment to the region and ongoing product innovation and plans to expand adoption of the Anomali platform across global enterprises and government organizations.

A key focus at this year’s event will be the changing nature of cyberattacks. As threat actors promptly adopt AI to scale campaigns and further accelerate attacks, security operations centers (SOC) are under growing pressure to process rising volumes of alerts with limited resources. To help with this, Anomali will demonstrate how AI can support analysts in multiple ways like surfacing higher- value insights, reducing manual effort and enabling quicker, informed responses.

Visitors can find Anomali at Booth E156 and Booth A80.

  • Event: GISEC Global 2026
  • Booths: E156 and A80
  • Location: Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC), Expo City
  • Dates: 16 th to 18 September 2026
  • Time: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm GST
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HONOR BRINGS ITS ALPHA PLAN TO LIFE AT LEAP 2026 WITH THE WORLD’S FIRST ROBOT PHONE AND RENEWED “DARE TO BE” BRAND DIRECTION

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HONOR, a global leading AI device ecosystem company, concluded its participation at LEAP 2026, bringing its “ALPHA PLAN: From Vision to Reality” to life through the world’s first Robot Phone, advancements in robotics, cinematic imaging and connected AI experiences. The participation also marked HONOR’s renewed “Dare to Be” brand direction reflecting its continued transformation from a company predominantly known for smartphones into a broader global AI device ecosystem company.

Commenting on the participation, Lei Kunming, CMO HONOR Middle East & Africa said, “LEAP 2026 showed how HONOR’s ALPHA PLAN is moving from vision to reality. From the world’s first Robot Phone and Robotics to our connected ecosystem, we demonstrated how AI can work more naturally around people.” He added “Our ‘Dare to Be’ direction gives that transformation a stronger identity, with Saudi Arabia remaining central to our growth in AI and digital innovation.”

Bringing the HONOR Booth Experience to Life

Visitors explored HONOR’s expanding ecosystem through interactive experiences spanning sports, gaming, smart office, learning and everyday scenarios.

The booth demonstrated how smartphones, PCs, tablets, wearables and other smart devices can work together to deliver more seamlessly, across work, entertainment, sports and health, reflecting the ALPHA PLAN’s ambition to create a more intelligent, connected and human-centric ecosystem around the user.

Introducing the World’s First Robot Phone

At the centre of HONOR’s showcase was the world’s first Robot Phone, a defining proof point of the ALPHA PLAN and a new category combining AI, robotics and cinematic imaging.

Its integrated robotic gimbal can move, track subjects and respond to its surroundings, enabling more intuitive and proactive content creation. LEAP also marked the Robot Phone’s reveal for the Middle East and Africa, making the region the first overseas market to experience the new category.

HONOR also highlighted its collaboration with ARRI, bringing more than 100 years of professional cinema and image science expertise together with HONOR’s AI and robotics capabilities to make cinematic content creation more accessible to everyday users.

Advancing a Future Built on Human and AI Collaboration

Beyond the Robot Phone, HONOR showcased its ambitions in robotics through HONOR Robotics D1, reinforcing its vision of a future shaped not by humans competing against AI, but by humans working with AI to achieve more. The company also explored the future of AI devices and robotics through its LEAP keynote and panel discussions.

Entering a New “Dare to Be” Era

Reflecting this evolution, HONOR’s renewed“Dare to Be” direction reflects its evolution beyond individual devices towards an open AI ecosystem connecting technologies, industries and lifestyles. Supported by innovations including Agentic OS and AiMAGE, HONOR’s journey progresses from an intelligent phone to an intelligent ecosystem and, ultimately, an intelligent world.

Driving Growth Across MEA

HONOR entered LEAP with strong regional momentum. In H1 2026, the company grew by 35% while the Middle East smartphone market declined by 13%, making HONOR the only leading smartphone brand in the region to grow and the second-largest smartphone brand in the Middle East. This followed 73% year-on-year growth in Q1 2026.

Within this regional growth, Saudi Arabia remains a particularly important market for HONOR, supporting the company’s broader ambitions across AI devices and its connected ecosystem.

Strengthening HONOR’s AIoT Presence in Saudi Arabia

As part of this momentum, Saudi Arabia remains a strategic market for HONOR and an important part of the ALPHA PLAN. The Kingdom is now HONOR’s number one tablet market by share, while its AIoT business has grown by more than 500% and HONOR Earbuds Clip has surpassed 100,000 units sold locally.

Building on this strong foundation, HONOR continues to strengthen its presence through retail, after-sales, local partnerships and deeper engagement with the Kingdom’s technology ecosystem.

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greytHR expands agentic AI-powered HR execution across Middle East region with greytHR NAVOS

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greytHR, a leading full-suite Human Resource Management System (HRMS) platform, launched greytHR NAVOS across the Middle East region, bringing agentic AI competencies directly into its platform. The new capability enables HR teams  to find information, navigate workflows, while completing authorised HR activities through simple, natural-language commands.

The Middle East rollout comes as agentic AI begins to reshape HR functions globally. According to McKinsey’s August 2026 research on the agentic era of HR, roughly two-thirds of today’s HR activities, including recruitment, payroll, onboarding and benefits administration, could be largely automated by 2030.

Unlike conventional AI assistants that primarily focus on answering questions, greytHR NAVOS follows an execution-first approach, helping users move from finding information to initiating and completing supported HR actions. Its three core functions – Navigate, Operate, and Support – enable information and workflow discovery, authorised action execution and contextual guidance.

Girish Rowjee, Co-founder & CEO of greytHR, said: “We have evolved from a system that you work on, to a platform that works with you. As a full-suite HRMS, greytHR already connects the entire hire-to-retire lifecycle across key HR operations. With the launch of greytHR NAVOS, we are adding an agentic AI layer across this connected ecosystem, enabling users to manage everyday HR activities through conversational commands rather than searching through multiple menus or disconnected tools. Furthermore, greytHR NAVOS works within each organisation’s existing security and access controls, reducing administrative friction and accelerating everyday HR execution.”

greytHR NAVOS supports a wide range of workflows across core HR, leave and attendance, workforce management, performance management, recruitment, platform navigation and support. HR teams can use the capability to update employee information, generate and publish letters, access attendance records, manage leave and regularisations, support performance reviews, search for job openings and candidates, handle recruitment approvals and generate hiring content.

Based on early greytHR NAVOS usage in comparable markets,  HR administrators have reported productivity savings of approximately five hours per week by replacing repetitive manual workflows with conversational requests. In one practical example, an attendance-muster export that previously required around five separate steps can be completed through a natural-language prompt in approximately 10 seconds. By simplifying routine processes and reducing time spent on software interfaces, greytHR NAVOS enables HR professionals to devote more time to employee engagement, workforce planning and strategic decision-making.

greytHR NAVOS operates within each organisation’s existing role-based access control (RBAC) system, ensuring that access to employee information and platform actions remains aligned with individual user roles and permissions. Moreover, sensitive or irreversible actions require explicit human confirmation before execution. The platform also maintains a traceable audit record of AI-assisted activity, including the initiating user, timestamp, prompt and action details. Meanwhile, greytHR’s established privacy, security, and governance framework extends to greytHR NAVOS, including alignment with SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001:2022, and GDPR frameworks, supported by human oversight.

The new capability is available across all paid greytHR plans, including essential, growth, and premium, with no per-seat AI fees, usage caps or separate purchase required.

The launch showcases the evolution of HRMS platforms from traditional systems of record towards systems of action, where technology can understand user intent, identify the relevant workflow and support the execution of the next authorised step.

greytHR currently supports over 34,000 organisations and 3.5 million users across over 30 countries, providing a strong foundation for expanding its agentic AI capabilities across the Middle East region. With greytHR NAVOS, the company is helping regional businesses simplify HR administration and narrow the gap between intent and execution.

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