Invest Hong Kong to follow up Bkk office and Jakarta

Currently, Invest Hong Kong operates 29 offices worldwide, covering all major economies.

“For Thailand, we aim to boost investment [in Hong Kong], especially in agricultural products and food processing as the country is a global food production base. Hong Kong can be a regional hub of for the import and export of food products from Thailand,” he said.

Meanwhile, hospitality is another potential investment sector in Hong Kong, as the Kingdom is the biggest tourism market in Southeast Asia.

Ho said that when the Jakarta was opened for business in the final quarter of this year, it would bring huge opportunities for trading and investment from the largest country in Southeast Asia.

Invest Hong Kong recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Indonesian companies to expand their cooperation with the special administrative region, he added.

For Indonesia, the investment promotion agency is targeting e-commerce business in particular due to the country’s plethora of islands, plus the fact that the Indonesian government announced the promotion of small and medial-sized businesses supplying overseas markets with products made across the archipelago, he explained.

Invest Hong Kong also aims to attract foreign investment to mainland China, on the back of Beijing’s “One Belt One Road” initiative to draw investment from around the world, he said.For China, potential investment sectors include services, finance, trading, logistics and high-technology businesses.

“We will help foreign investors to negotiate with the central government [in China]. We are also teaming up with alliances in Hong Kong such as the stock exchange, logistics and shipping companies, banking and financial institutions to facilitate new investment,” the associate director-general said.

Vivien Lau, executive director of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals, said the company’s Hong Kong International Airport terminal currently utilised 4.3 million tonnes of its full capacity of 7 million tonnes, meaning it had plenty of room to provide more cargo services to customers from around the word.

The terminal served more than 100 air-cargo customers last year. 

She said Hong Kong would start building a third terminal at the airport in August, with completion scheduled for 2023 or 2024.

Moreover, Hong Kong is constructing a bridge to link it with Zhuhai in mainland China.

“Hong Kong has already become the gateway into China for both shipping and air access. In the future, there will be a new bridge to help facilitate land transportation. These infrastructures will help Hong Kong and China attract more investment from overseas,” Ho added.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange, meanwhile, is promoting its strength as a global financial hub and one-stop service centre for new investors eyeing investment in China, he said.

The Hong Kong government recently announced additional lower-tax schemes and the relaxation of regulations in a bid to boost investment on the mainland.