With a package of eye-dazzling gifts, signifying hundreds of billions of yuan in benefits doled out for all Hong Kong people, Vice-Premier Li Keqiang's recent visit has given a boost to a city under a cloud due to Europe's debt woes and the political deadlock in the United States.

The raft of 36 measures aimed at bolstering the local economy is in line with the central government's economic and livelihood aims for Hong Kong in the 12th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development. They ranged from a blueprint to develop Hong Kong into an offshore yuan business center, further opening market access to the mainland's service industry, as well as improving food safety and energy supply to the city.

Despite measures seeking to take care of the livelihoods of the general public, nearly half of the gifts are related to financial services and the offshore yuan market, and most of them are in the medium to long-term before any real benefits surface.

The significance of these measures is obviously to fortify Hong Kong's status as a global financial hub and to turn the city into an offshore yuan center. No doubt the measures will provide substantial opportunities across a wide spectrum of Hong Kong business activity, but the city's people should not have high hopes that these presents can ease mounting livelihood pressure in the short term brought on by soaring inflation.

Among the most eye-catching measures are no doubt the long-awaited plans to allow Hong Kong holders of yuan to buy mainland-listed securities through the qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) scheme. It will also allow mainlanders to invest directly in the local stock market via the so-called through-train scheme, as well as allow non-financial mainland companies to issue yuan-denominated debt in Hong Kong on a case-by-case basis capped at 25 billion yuan, and to use yuan in cross-border trade settlement.

Apart from serving as drivers to boost the city's economy, these measures also have a two-fold meaning in that they can pave the way for the mainland to open up its capital account as well as advance the internationalization of the yuan through the city's well-protected trading platform. For the mainland, the wider use of the yuan in foreign trade and settlement can certainly reduce reliance on the US dollar and exchange rate risks.

The mainland needs Hong Kong to serve as a window and springboard to the world market when its economy integrates more deeply with the global market.

For Hong Kong living in fear of another financial tsunami, these economy-boosting measures will aid the city against the backdrop of the market turmoil triggered by the debt crisis in Europe and the US. With the door open for the city to step up the global economic ladder, how it makes use of these win-win opportunities with the mainland is important.

The first thing for it to do is to strengthen the city's financial infrastructure as well as its financial security in order to become a full-fledged offshore yuan center.

Just a few weeks ago, the Hong Kong stock exchange's news website was attacked by hackers leading to a suspension of trading in seven stocks.  This incident certainly does not bode well for the city's status as a leading international financial center and has raised alarm bells for all financial institutions on the need to strengthen their Internet security systems.

In fact, this was not the first time hackers have raided its computers or websites. Any security loophole or glitch in its computer system can cause widespread panic and chaos that will incur losses to investors and damage their confidence. In addition to plugging security loopholes, HKEx should also establish alternative information dissemination platforms to avoid trading suspensions should its primary news site be attacked again.

To develop Hong Kong into a successful offshore yuan center, the SAR government needs to strengthen the city's financial hardware capable of handling increasing yuan settlement volume, and its financial software as a safe and reliable trading platform.

On tapping into the mainland services market, the SAR government needs to devise a well-thought out plan to nurture and expand the six new industries such as medical services, culture and creative industries, environmental and education services, as well as help local professionals flex their business muscles on the mainland. In view of the growing demand for the city's healthcare services spurred by the influx of mainlanders, how can Hong Kong expand the healthcare industry in the mainland?

What hurdles need to be overcome for local medical institutions to operate hospitals on the mainland or local medical experts to practice there? These are the questions the SAR government needs to sort out with the mainland authorities. It should set up a central coordination body to help local professionals enter the mainland market.

The author is a current affairs commentator.