Hong Kong must push for stronger business ties with Southeast Asian economies to prevent the city from “withering on the vine” amid growing geopolitical tensions, an adviser to the chief executive has said.
Frederick Ma Si-hang, a member of the Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s Council of Advisers, said on Sunday that Lee’s recent visit to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam had helped with lobbying efforts to allow Hong Kong to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s biggest free trade pact.
The city leader last month led a delegation, which included business and professional sector representatives, to visit the three countries as part of his third trip to the Asean bloc following last year’s trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Ma said that while some economies that made up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were “still in their infancy”, demand for financial services and products in the bloc had risen thanks to an increase in overall income and a growing middle class.
The association comprises the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
“Given the geopolitical issues, if we refuse to change … we may have no choice but to wither on the vine,” the former commerce and economic development minister told a radio interview.
Ma, who joined the delegation for the Vietnam portion of the trip, currently serves as director for Hong Kong-based insurer FWD Group Holdings. The company’s business coverage includes most of Southeast Asia.
Ma added that Hong Kong could have an edge in helping Asean countries to build hotels to attract business leaders, citing people’s experiences at a venue in Laos and saying there was room for improvement.
“Hongkongers are very good at running hospitality businesses,” he said, urging the city’s business communities to explore industry opportunities among the Asean bloc’s developing economies.
“We Hongkongers can invest in those places. Frankly speaking, they may not have the financial resources to invest in Hong Kong,” he added.
The former minister said Hong Kong could also benefit from young talent coming to the city for work.
Lee’s recent visit to the Asean bloc led to the signing of about 55 memorandums of understanding and other agreements – 12 with Laos, 13 with Cambodia and 30 with Vietnam.
The deals cover areas such as trade and economic partnership, investment, customs collaboration, education, cultural exchanges and tourism promotion.
The trip also helped to bolster relations and communications between governments while securing the three countries’ backing for Hong Kong to join RCEP.
The free trade pact’s current members are Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, mainland China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The bloc also accounts for about 30 per cent of the world’s population and 30 per cent of global gross domestic product.
Alongside Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Chile have also applied to join the partnership.
During the third plenum for the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee last month, Beijing threw its support behind Hong Kong becoming a “gathering place for international high-end talent” in a bid to support the nation’s modernisation efforts.
Lawmaker Duncan Chiu, who accompanied city leader Lee on his recent Asean trip and represents the innovation and technology sector, said the tour could help change Western media’s “unfriendly attitude” towards Hong Kong, as it would offer opportunities to outstanding students from Southeast Asia.
“In the past, many European and American countries exported their ideologies through education, which may be more effective than the media,” he told the same radio programme.
Chiu said he planned to arrange industry tour groups to visit Laos and other locations to help understand their respective market situations.
The legislator said he believed the development of Asean states meant there was demand for “soft infrastructure”, such as finance and technology, adding Hong Kong could play an important role in providing such products and services.
