Ally Zhang, Director General of the Guangzhou Nansha Promotion Centre of Nansha-Hong Kong-Macao Cooperation, and Stephanie Liu, Deputy Secretary-General of the Consultative Committee on Guangdong-Hong Kong Cooperation (Guangzhou Nansha), called on the Chamber on November 18, where they were received by China Committee Chairman Eric Fok. The topics discussed were enhancing bilateral exchanges and explored possible areas of collaboration.

Fok stressed on closer cooperation in areas of focus such as business, youth and culture, while Zhang expressed the hope that Hong Kong enterprises would visit Nansha to explore its latest development and business opportunities. Both parties said they looked forward to establishing a closer relationship based on exchange and cooperation after the pandemic.

Gregory So, Deputy Committee Director, and Raymond Yip, Hong Kong Chief Representative, Consultative Committee on Guangdong-Hong Kong Co-operation (Guangzhou Nansha) attended the China Committee meeting on 15 July, where they discussed the current policies of the Nansha district in Guangzhou and its role as a gateway to the Greater Bay Area.

At the same meeting, Eric Fok was re-elected as Chairman of the Committee, and SH Chan, Felix Lee and Edmond Yew were re-elected as Vice Chairmen.

Major infrastructure development is on the way as part of Hong Kong's Northern Metropolis Development Strategy. At a seminar on 18 May, Marcos Chan, Executive Director and Head of Research for Hong Kong SAR, CBRE, introduced his firm’s latest report on Hong Kong’s infrastructure outlook, and discussed what the development of the city's transport and real estate infrastructure means for investors and businesses in Hong Kong.

The extensive new roads and railways will provide rapid links from Hong Kong to the Mainland, including faster links to the airport.

Chan noted that a significant part of the Northern Metropolis development would be in the logistics and innovation sectors, and said that much of the residential space had been allocated for public housing. He added that the current Harbour Metropolis would remain home to the financial sector, so he did not expect to see an exodus of businesses from the city’s original CBD.

We had useful seminar today on trade and investment between GBA and ASEAN and Hong Kong’s role. Irina Fan, Director of Research at HKTDC, said China’s trade and investment relations with ASEAN had been growing at a remarkable pace over the past two decades, with China surpassing the U.S., E.U. , U.K. and Japan in 2009 to become the region’s largest trading partner. She added that Hong Kong was an important platform for GBA-based businesses expanding into the ASEAN market as Hong Kong was the bloc’s second largest source of FDI, only after the U.S. GBA businesses were drawn to ASEAN by its cost-effectiveness for business, huge consumer market, abundant resources, and attractive government incentives.

Ricky Ng, Head of Wholesale Banking at UOB Hong Kong, said each ASEAN market had its own charm. Indonesia and Vietnam, for example, were great destinations for manufacturing as costs were relatively low. He pointed out that internet access, advanced manufacturing, and sustainable city solutions were the region’s most promising emerging opportunities, and projected a potential boost of US$1 trillion to the region’s economy by 2025. He added Hong Kong was an ideal stepping stone for Chinese enterprises entering ASEAN, as it possessed a state-of-the-art professional services sector, offered lower costs of financing and more flexible cash flows.

Also speaking at the event, Eva Tsang, Executive Director at Opal Cosmetics (Hong Kong) Limited, shared her experience expanding her company’s personal care and beauty products to the ASEAN market. She suggested that the first thing members should pay attention to when entering the market was to find a reliable partner and take good care of trademark registration and taxation. She also recommended companies make sure they take into consideration local needs, such as getting Halal Certification so that their products are permissible under Islamic law. 

Thanks also go to the Chamber’s GBA Working Group Convenor Petrina Tam and Asia & Africa Committee Chairman Jonathan Lamport for moderating the event.