Three Asean countries and Hong Kong have agreed to consider easing visitor entry requirements in both directions, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has said as he concluded a visit to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, adding the city might set up new economic trade offices in the region.
The city leader said his “fruitful” six-day trip, which included more than 30 events and ended in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, not only resulted in 55 cooperation agreements but also promoted people-to-people exchanges.
“The governments of the three countries and I have agreed that we need to work harder to increase people-to-people exchanges and facilitate entry,” Lee said before returning to Hong Kong.
He noted that frequent visitors from Vietnam were now eligible for a multi-entry visa to enter Hong Kong, but did not elaborate on whether and when a further relaxation would be introduced.
“In addition to increasing [flight] capacity, we will also provide convenience for tourists’ entry as much as possible. We will all look into how to make progress in this aspect.”
Lee also said the government was considering adding new economic and trade offices in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region aside for one planned for Kuala Lumpur, although he stopped short of revealing whether the three countries he visited this week were on the radar.
Last month there were 85 pairs of passenger and cargo flights between Hong Kong airport and Vietnam each week. There were 10 pairs between the city and Cambodia.
Several deals signed during Lee’s third trip to Asean member nations concerned collaboration on tourism and expanding air services with the three countries.
Hong Kong’s Airport Authority signed four memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in Cambodia and Vietnam, including with Vietnam Airlines and the holding company of budget carrier VietJet, to boost connectivity and explore cooperation in operational know-how.
Cathay Pacific Airways signed an agreement with the operator of Phnom Penh airport to increase service frequency to the Cambodian capital from five flights to seven a week starting in October. Hong Kong Airlines has also partnered with Cambodian Airways to explore business opportunities.
But the visa hurdles – in particular those laid down by Hong Kong – could make it difficult for airlines to fill seats. For instance, Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines ended its four times a week service to Ho Chi Minh City in February after an eight-month run.
Legislator Johnny Ng Kit-chong, also part of Lee’s 30-strong business delegation, pointed to the visa hurdles for Vietnamese to travel to Hong Kong as one of his two key takeaways from the trip.
“It’s been very difficult for Vietnamese to obtain a visa for Hong Kong. Business visas are slightly easier, but tourist visas are very difficult and often take a long time to be approved,” he said.
Former commerce minister Frederick Ma Si-hang, who chairs insurer FWD Group and was also in the delegation, acknowledged that city authorities had been hesitant over the visa issue “under the historical context”, referring to the influx of Vietnamese refugees into the city in the wake of the Vietnam war.
“Things have been starting to move on the visa front and I think more things can be done,” he said. “But because there is a lot of historical background, we need to give the government some time.”
Jonathan Choi Koon-shum, chairman of Hong Kong’s Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, said he had also urged Vietnamese officials during the trip to further ease visa requirements for Hongkongers and cut immigration waiting times at the country’s key gateway airports to boost tourism.
Lee, in summing up his trip, said he had reached a “clear consensus” with leaders in the three countries to reinforce exchanges at government level, while expanding networks and opening up opportunities for the city’s businesses.
He said five cooperation agreements signed by the University of Hong Kong and Polytechnic University in Laos and Vietnam also highlighted the city’s appeal as a global education hub.
Signatories to 22 non-binding agreements revealed on Friday also included HSBC, Standard Chartered (Hong Kong), Bank of China (Hong Kong) and FWD Group.
The final batch of deals brought the full tally to 55, including 12 in Laos and 13 in Cambodia.
Earlier on Friday, Lee toured a garment factory set up by a Hong Kong-based manufacturer on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, which has about 2,500 workers and an annual output capacity of 900,000 items.
In addition to making clothing for Japanese lifestyle brand Muji, the factory also makes shirts sold under the company’s own retail chain in Hong Kong, mainland China and Vietnam.
Before touring the production plant, the city leader was given a guided tour of the showroom.
“My figure makes it easy to buy clothes, but today I’m not here to shop, I’m here to visit and exchange ideas,” he said.
Lee also met Phan Van Mai, chairman of the people’s committee of Ho Chi Minh City in the afternoon. He later said Hong Kong was very welcome to share its expertise with the Vietnamese city to help it fulfil its ambition of becoming a financial centre through capacity building and developments of good regulations.
He is the first Hong Kong leader to visit the three countries. It was also Lee’s first overseas visit in a year and third visit to member countries in the Asean bloc since becoming leader.
