'Reopening Helps Cross-border Business Management'

Business leaders on Thursday welcomed the reopening of the border, saying it would make it much easier for them to manage and expand their operations on the mainland.

From Sunday, up to 50,000 Hong Kong residents will be able to travel north each day via three land borders, while another 10,000 are expected to cross into the mainland using the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, the airport, and the two ferry terminals.

Danny Lau, the honorary chairman of the Small and Medium Enterprises Association, told RTHK that the reopening paves the way for normal business activities to resume.

"A lot of high-level management staff and factory owners have not been in China for the past three years. This time, we can go back, talk with staff and workers, and we can make more investments," he said.

Meanwhile, the president of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, Allen Shi, said the resumption of quarantine-free travel will allow firm owners to return to the mainland as soon as possible to manage their operations and recover lost ground.

The association also urged the SAR government to consider scrapping the quota on travellers, and speed up the reopening of other control points.

Roundtable lawmaker Michael Tien also wants the high-speed rail link to restart soon, despite the government saying it will happen no later than January 15.

"I hope that they could expedite it even if it's a few days earlier, because it's very important for Hong Kong people, a lot of them want to go directly to Guangzhou," Tien said.

Separately, Cathay Pacific announced it will more than double its flights to the mainland, operating 61 return flights each week between Hong Kong and 13 mainland cities from January 14, including Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.

"Cathay Pacific is working actively to resume and add more flights progressively between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland in the coming weeks, with the aim of operating over 100 return flights per week by the end of March 2023," the flag carrier said in a statement.