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My visit to Malaysia and Singapore

I set off for Malaysia and Singapore last week with a jam-packed schedule. Apart from meeting key government officials, business leaders, corporate representatives, heads of financial technology companies and Hong Kong people working there, I also visited some technology companies and attended seminars as well as luncheon and dinner meetings on the development of China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Asia, during which I delivered keynote speeches on accelerating economic development and co-operation in the region. On various occasions, I highlighted Hong Kong’s new advantages and the opportunities arising as the city enters a new stage of development.

In order to have closer and more in-depth interactions with local youths, I visited two renowned universities, Universiti Malaya and the National University of Singapore, where I delivered speeches and exchanged views with students. Not only were they keen to know how to strengthen co-operation between Hong Kong and their countries to achieve better regional development, they also expressed interest in the development opportunities in Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as well as our new policies and measures to attract enterprises and talent, particularly the Top Talent Pass Scheme launched a few months ago. Given that these two universities are among the top 100 in the world, their graduates would fulfil the requirements of the scheme. In other words, they may just come to Hong Kong and look for jobs, enjoying greater flexibility in pursuing careers in Hong Kong. Students attending the events come from different academic departments, and some of them have plans to start their own businesses. From the close interactions I had with the students, I can feel that our new policies have been attractive so that they would consider coming over to Hong Kong for developing their careers.

Speaking to the students of Universiti Malaya about Hong Kong’s new development opportunities.

Speaking at the National University of Singapore and interacting with their students.

Many of the people I met, including young students, business executives and practitioners in the service sector, are ethnic Chinese who can speak Cantonese, Putonghua and English. Some of them even said that they grew up watching Hong Kong movies and listening to Hong Kong pop music. I felt like I was at home when talking to them. Some non-ethnic Chinese young people there also know Hong Kong quite well and are enthusiastic about coming to Hong Kong for development. In fact, with the geographical proximity and profound cultural, economic, trade and social ties between Hong Kong and the Southeast Asian economies, many enterprises in those countries have set up business in Hong Kong. Some people who visited Hong Kong after the resumption of normal travel said that Hong Kong’s economic and social atmosphere had obviously improved, and the city had regained vitality. Although the pandemic has hindered our exchanges in the past few years, they have remained optimistic about the Mainland’s economy and the huge potential of the GBA. Some enterprises expressed that they would like to use Hong Kong as a fund-raising platform and point of access to the Mainland market.

Speaking at the China Conference: Southeast Asia 2023, organised by the South China Morning Post, during my visit to Singapore.

In Singapore, I attended a conference organised by the South China Morning Post and delivered a keynote speech in which I stressed that technological innovation, grooming of talent and cross-territorial collaboration could help strengthen the impetus for economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. The Mainland and countries in ASEAN are currently rising as important economic powerhouses and the development potential of the whole of Asia is boundless. All countries in the region are hoping to promote more diversified and higher value-added economic development. On the premise of maintaining social and political stability, strengthening the internal growth momentum and seeking regional co-operation to accelerate development have become the main focus of the entire region. In fact, Hong Kong, with its unique advantages, is certainly the best platform which could assist countries in Asia to accelerate development.

The institutional arrangement of “one country, two systems” not only enables Hong Kong to benefit from the enormous Mainland market, but also allows us to maintain the common law system with market rules and regulatory regimes that align with international standards. Besides, Hong Kong maintains a stable exchange rate and enjoys free flow of capital, talent, goods and information. Our market is highly efficient and transparent. The staunch support from our country has helped strengthen the development of our capital market. Since mid last month, international companies listed on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited that meet certain requirements have been included in the Southbound Connect. This means that such companies, in addition to attracting international funds, may benefit from the huge amount of Mainland funds. Such a measure represents a milestone in further promoting the diversification and internationalisation of Hong Kong’s stock market.

Meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Plantation and Commodities of Malaysia, Mr Fadillah Yusof.

Meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of Singapore, Mr Lawrence Wong.

The establishment of the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises and the Co-Investment Fund at the end of last year, together with such directions for development as I proposed in the Budget last month, including the acceleration of the development of digital economy, and the promotion of Web3 as well as GreenTech and GreenFi, have become Hong Kong’s new highlights in attracting enterprises to establish presence in the city. During this trip, I met with representatives of enterprises engaging in innovation and technology (I&T), Internet platforms, biomedicine and artificial intelligence. These enterprises are interested in Hong Kong’s policies and supporting measures to promote I&T development, especially those on using Hong Kong as a base for tapping into the GBA market. Some of them said that the meetings had enabled them to have a more comprehensive understanding of Hong Kong’s latest developments and situation. Some even said that the meetings had speeded up their decision to establish a presence or expand their business in Hong Kong.

During this trip, I also arranged a breakfast meeting with representatives of leading enterprises engaged in Web2 and Web3, the businesses of which cover digital infrastructure, investment funds, virtual assets (VA) and trading platforms. We exchanged views on the future development of Web3. Many of them said that they did not have many opportunities to attend such cross-sectoral meetings in the past; they were quite interested in our policy ideas and directions for fostering the development of Web3 in Hong Kong. In fact, ever since we issued our policy statement on the development of VA in Hong Kong last year, they have been paying close attention to Hong Kong’s development in this area. They reckon that our endeavours to establish a clear framework for the development of the VA market with a proactive and balanced regulatory approach; these will help promote the steady and prudent development of the industry and allow Hong Kong to stand out in the face of keen global competition. They are highly optimistic about the development prospects of Hong Kong.

Having a breakfast meeting with the founders and senior management of over 10 world-leading Web3 and VA platform enterprises.

In short, the impression I have got from this trip is that both Malaysia and Singapore have their own development potential. Malaysia is rich in natural resources, and its merchandise trade creates ample business opportunities for enterprises. Besides, the Malaysian Government is actively promoting the upgrading, transformation and diversification of industries. Singapore, well versed in the operation of the Southeast Asian market, offers comprehensive and high-quality professional and other services. Singapore’s competitive business environment is highly attractive to enterprises wishing to tap into the regional market. How Hong Kong could foster closer co-operation with both countries in opening up the major markets of the Mainland and the ASEAN, is something which we should continue to explore and work on.

This trip has also given me the chance to meet many old friends who have all along supported Hong Kong. I have also made new friends who know about Hong Kong and are looking forward to visiting the city again. They all appreciate the work culture of Hong Kong featuring diligence and flexibility; our vibrant and efficient business environment; precise, transparent and stable policies; and glamorous cosmopolitan lifestyle. These are the strengths that make Hong Kong a front-runner in Asia.

It can be expected that with the shift in global economic gravity from West to East, the continuous development of China and the developing Asian economies, advancement in technology application and technological innovation, and the expansion of the middle class, economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region will gain further momentum while trade in goods and services and the flow of people will increase significantly. There may be concerns that intensified competition among the economies may bring about adverse consequences; but economic development will enable us to make a bigger pie. Stimulated by the pressure of competition, economies will keep enhancing their competitiveness, which will make possible the application of higher-level technology, product innovation, service improvements, etc. After decades of development, various economies have charted a distinctive path of their own. It is my conviction that, by brushing aside the zero-sum mindset and contemplating how to achieve win-win, healthy competition will bring out the best of our strengths and potential, thus enabling us to make greater contributions to the development of the global economy, as well as the well-being of our own people and community.

April 2, 2023