CE: ASEAN journey expands business opportunities, promotes Hong Kong and paves way for broader co-operation
28.7.2023

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, led a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) delegation to continue their visit in Malaysia today (July 28). He visited local major enterprises, attended a business luncheon and exchanged views with local political and business leaders. In the morning, Mr Lee and the delegation had breakfast at a local hawker centre. They then visited a major Malaysian conglomerate, Berjaya Corporation Berhad, to understand its diversified businesses, including the development of its retail business in Hong Kong. Mr Lee encouraged the corporation to use Hong Kong as an important platform to tap into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) market, expanding its businesses in Hong Kong and other GBA cities. At noon, Mr Lee attended a business luncheon jointly organised by the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Addressing the luncheon, Mr Lee said that Hong Kong is bestowed with the unique advantages of having the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected with the world under "one country, two systems", and that he looked forward to more enterprises of Malaysia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to come to Hong Kong and explore business opportunities. Enterprises and institutions of Hong Kong and Malaysia also signed 11 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and agreements in areas including trade, finance, railway and property development, digital transformation, and financial technology. Mr Lee then visited another Malaysian conglomerate, Sunway Group, to tour the medical and elderly facilities in Sunway City and understand the group's business development. He introduced the HKSAR Government's latest policy and measures in attracting talents and enterprises, and encouraged the group to expand its investment and trade in Hong Kong. Mr Lee then met the media with the accompanying Principal Officials; the Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Dr Peter Lam; and some members of the delegation, to conclude the visit. Mr Lee said that he has led the delegation to visit Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia in turn, to promote Hong Kong's advantages to local political and business leaders, and made achievements in five areas: 1. The Chief Executive has built friendship and communication with the leaders of the three countries, and established communication with the Secretary-General of ASEAN; 2. Over the past week, a total of 33 MOUs and agreements have been signed with different organisations of the three countries. The number of MOUs and agreements signed was the highest among similar trips and they cover such areas as trading and commerce, investment, finance, innovation and technology, logistics, academic research and cultural exchange. They signify that the importance accorded to Hong Kong has far exceeded expectations; 3. Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia have reaffirmed their support to Hong Kong's accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership; 4. The HKSAR Government and the Government of Singapore have agreed to reconvene the civil service exchange programme suspended earlier due to the pandemic; and 5. The Government of Malaysia has extended the visa-free entry for holders of the HKSAR passport to Malaysia from one month to 90 days, benefitting all holders of the HKSAR passport. Mr Lee and the delegation will return to Hong Kong tomorrow (July 29). Ends/Friday, July 28, 2023 Issued at HKT 20:29 NNNN