HKSAR to further strengthen ties with ASEAN countries

It includes the plan to establish a fourth ASEAN ETO in Kuala Lumpur.

The Hong Kong SAR (HKSAR) government aims to open a fourth ASEAN Economic & Trade Office (ETO) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

The first three ETOs are located in Singapore, Bangkok, and Jakarta.

"ASEAN has been our second-largest merchandise trade partner for more than a decade. Last year, our trade reached US$145 billion. That, ladies and gentlemen, accounted for nearly 13% of Hong Kong's total trade with the world last year," Chief Executive John Lee said.

“Hong Kong has long been an open economy, a world city built on free trade. And we are eager to expand our regional cooperation and uphold multilateralism in international trade,” he said. 

In July, Lee visited the ASEAN countries of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where they signed 55 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and agreements, strengthening their cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, customs, education, logistics, tourism, technology, aviation, and finance.

In July 2022, during his visit to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, they signed more than 30 MoUs, bringing the total to close to 90 cooperation agreements signed with six ASEAN countries in just one year.

Lee also said that he was confident that Hong Kong could join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). 

All 15 RCEP members, most notably Mainland China and the 10 ASEAN member states, are key Hong Kong trading partners, accounting for about 70% of Hong Kong's total merchandise trade in 2023, and 48% of trade in services in 2022.

Moreover, the government has signed bilateral free trade agreements with 13 RCEP members.

“Given our role as the super connector and super value-adder between the Mainland and economies worldwide, Hong Kong is primed to bring singular and significant value to RCEP and its members,” Lee said. 

Hong Kong has contributed 6.5% of direct investment inflows into ASEAN, making it the fourth-largest source of direct investment amongst ASEAN's external partners.