The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published today (September 20) statistics on Statistics of Stored Value Facilities (SVF) schemes … read more
​Invest Hong Kong attended the 27th Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium and Beijing-Hong Kong Cooperation Promotion Conference today (September 20) in Beijing, promoting Hong Kong’s business advantages to Mainland enterprises. The department also joined one of the “Invest in Hong Kong” thematic sessions – “Special Promotion Activities for Trade and Logistics Cooperation” on the first day of the symposium, encouraging Mainland enterprises to make use of Hong Kong’s advantages as a multinational supply chain management centre to expand overseas amid the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development.
The Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, and the Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Dr Bernard Chan, attended the event and delivered keynote speeches, followed by a presentation from the Director-General of Investment Promotion, Ms Alpha Lau, on Hong Kong’s advantages as a multinational supply chain management centre.
Dr Chan said, under the “one country, two systems” principle, Hong Kong has the distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world. The city, as an international financial, transportation and trade centre, will give full play to its dual roles in going global and attracting foreign investment, helping Beijing’s enterprises to go global and connect with international markets, as well as bringing overseas investment, talent and projects to various provinces and cities on the Mainland, including Beijing. Under the 14th Five-Year Plan, the country supports Hong Kong to further enhance its status as an international trade centre. The HKSAR Government actively explores new markets, including Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Middle East countries, while strengthening its ties with traditional markets via its 65 offices from around the world. In addition, the HKSAR Government will continue to strengthen its work on attracting investment and its ties with investment promotion departments from various provinces and cities on the Mainland to work together to go global. He hopes that both Beijing and Hong Kong will take the success of today’s event as a new starting point to deepen exchanges in the future and reach more significant achievements of co-operation.
Ms Lau said that Hong Kong plays important roles as a “super-connector” and a “super value-adder” between the Mainland and the rest of the world, serving as a two-way springboard for attracting overseas enterprises and for Mainland enterprises to go global. With Hong Kong’s favourable business environment, including deep experience in foreign trade and financing, excellent professional services, high-quality talent and capital, well-established ports, airport and other infrastructure as well as reliable trade finance channels, the city can serve as a multinational supply chain management centre for Mainland enterprises. Meanwhile, Hong Kong, as Asia’s preferred international financial and business centre, offers Mainland enterprises comprehensive and well-developed professional services, making it the best place for them to set up and manage offshore trade centres. Mainland enterprises can make use of Hong Kong’s professional services and new investment opportunities to accelerate their overseas expansion.
The thematic presentation aimed to encourage Beijing enterprises to leverage Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre, as well as its strategic position as an international hub for high-calibre talent, the advantage in professional service and its active role in serving as a multinational supply chain management centre for Mainland enterprises, to better manage their overseas production capacity and supply chain.
For event photos, please visit www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72177720320476234.
Police will implement the following special traffic arrangements in various districts to facilitate grave-sweepers, and to ensure smooth vehicular traffic movements and pedestrian safety during Chung Yeung Festival. Ch… read more
The Lands Department (LandsD) announced today (September 20) that a site, Sha Tin Town Lot No. 625 at the junction of Sha Tin Wai Road and Siu Lek Yuen Road, Siu Lek Yuen, Sha Tin, New Territories, in the 2024-25 Land Sale… read more
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, and the Minister of Industry and Commerce of Laos, Mr Malaithong Kommasith, co-chaired the eighth Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers – Hong Kong, China (HKC) Consultation in Vientiane, Laos, today (September 20) to discuss issues relating to the implementation of the ASEAN-HKC Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA) and the Investment Agreement (IA), and exchange views on recent regional and global economic developments.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr Yau highlighted the long-term close relationship between Hong Kong and ASEAN. ASEAN is Hong Kong’s second-largest partner in trade in goods, the third-largest destination of outward direct investment and the fourth-largest partner in services trade. He highlighted that the three visits to ASEAN led by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, since his assumption of office in 2022 have created business opportunities and strengthened friendships. These visits led to the signing of nearly 90 memoranda of understanding and agreements altogether.
Mr Yau said that the signing of the AHKFTA and the IA in 2017 had laid a solid foundation for the trade and economic relationship between Hong Kong and ASEAN to grow and flourish. He looked forward to the early implementation of the First Protocol to Amend the AHKFTA so that traders could benefit from the updated rules of origin as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Mr Yau announced at the meeting Hong Kong’s support for the continuation of the Economic and Technical Cooperation (ECOTECH) Work Programme under the AHKFTA for another five years, with an enhanced contribution by 20 per cent to $6 million a year from 2025.
The ECOTECH Work Programme aims to build the capacities of the parties of the AHKFTA through technical assistance, knowledge transfer and information-sharing activities. So far, 35 projects have been approved covering different areas of trade and investment. Thirteen of them have been completed up to end-2023, benefitting more than 5 600 participants from both Hong Kong and ASEAN.
Mr Yau also took the opportunity to reiterate Hong Kong’s keen interest and readiness for accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). He thanked ASEAN for the staunch and continued support to Hong Kong’s accession bid.
“We very much hope to see the early adoption of accession procedures by RCEP members and the launching of substantive discussions between RCEP members and Hong Kong,” he added.
During the meeting, Mr Yau shared with the ASEAN member states (AMS) Hong Kong’s experience in supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in digital transformation and electronic commerce (e-commerce) amid the ever-changing economic environment. The support measures included the launch of the $500 million Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme, the development of the Trade Single Window, the setting up of an interdepartmental E-commerce Development Task Force, and the launch of “E-commerce Easy” to provide financial support to SMEs in doing e-commerce business.
Mr Yau also called on the AMS to join hands in eliminating barriers to digital trade and creating an environment that facilities businesses in harnessing the opportunities presented by the digital economy. He added that Hong Kong will continue to work with other World Trade Organization (WTO) members to pursue the extension of the WTO e-commerce moratorium, as well as to reinvigorate the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, to promote inclusivity and sustainability of digital trade.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Mr Yau held a bilateral meeting with the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Kao Kim Hourn, to discuss various trade and economic issues.
Mr Yau will next visit Singapore before returning to Hong Kong on September 24.
