Hong Kong to strengthen business ties with Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Kong aims to strengthen its business ties with Malaysia by capitalising on the growing opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative through the visit of its high-level business and professional delegation which ended today.
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Commerce and Economic Development Secretary Edward Yau said Malaysia is one of the strong players in ASEAN, as well as Hong Kong’s close traditional partner in the region.
“In this mission, our delegates will be given the opportunity to understand how Malaysia operates, which could pave collaborations going forward,” he told reporters after the Exploring New Business Opportunities Seminar and Networking Luncheon here, today.
Yau also called for more Malaysian businesses to explore the feasibility of making Hong Kong their base since the recent unrest has created better value for potential companies as cost of doing business in Hong Kong is now lower.
Besides being business-friendly, he said Hong Kong scores high for strategic location, productive workforce, stable economic and political environment, attractive taxes, pro-business environment, world-class infrastructure, and effective legal system.
“Hong Kong is always a welcome destination for businesses around the world, as even before the free-trade agreement (was concluded with Malaysia in October), we have imposed serial tariffs on imports and trade (between both places).
“What Hong Kong can also offer are windows and gateways into a fast-growing middle-income high-spending market in the mainland (China). At least 400 million of the mainland population are in the middle-income range, who spend a lot and the main source of the tourism industry,” he said.
Moving forward, he said there are a lot of optimism in terms of bilateral investments and businesses for both places due to Malaysia’s new government administration’s direction, as well as the support from the Belt and Road Initiative.
“Building on its expertise in financing, professional services and connections to the mainland and international investors, the city can support Malaysian businesses looking at investing in infrastructure projects, and in other countries,” he added.
In 2018, total bilateral trade between Malaysia and Hong Kong was valued at almost US$29 billion, a big leap of 56% from the previous year and Yau expects the value will continue to grow in the years to come.
Bernama
