Blog
Enhancing Understanding and Strengthening Co-operation
Last week, I visited Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, where I met with local leaders in finance, business and innovation and technology (I&T) to promote the strengths of Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Through various meetings, roundtable discussions and Q&A sessions, we not only enhanced mutual understanding but also explored more potential collaboration opportunities.
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| Delivering a keynote speech at a business luncheon arranged by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO), Sydney. |
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| Delivering a keynote speech on Hong Kong's economic future at the Asia Summit organised by the Australian Financial Review in partnership with the Asia Society Australia. |
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| Attending a roundtable breakfast meeting organised by HSBC in Australia. |
During my visit, I engaged with several tech companies in the fields of life and health sciences, pharmaceutical technology, fintech and green energy. These companies possess cutting-edge technologies and have significant development potential. However, to further advance their businesses, they require broader application scenarios, larger markets, and better fundraising platforms. As an international financial centre that is also actively building into an international I&T centre, Hong Kong serves as a two-way gateway connecting the GBA, the Mainland and the entire Asian region. Such advantage has made these Australian companies highly interested in developing operations in Hong Kong. Indeed, many life and health sciences and pharmaceutical companies we met posed very specific questions to me, seeking to deepen their understanding of Hong Kong. I also briefed them on the relative advantages and cooperation mechanisms of Hong Kong and its sister cities in the GBA in I&T. I also talked about future cross-boundary flows of various production factors and collaboration among I&T parks, as well as elaborating on Hong Kong's policies, measures and progress in attracting businesses and talent.
The HKSAR Government's continued investment and policy advances in I&T over the past few years, combined with the staunch support from the country and our effectiveness in attracting businesses and talent, have made Australian businesses keen to gain a deeper understanding of the development opportunities and two-way gateway functions that Hong Kong offers. Among the many initiatives is the development of clinical trial facilities and services in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, which targets the Greater Bay Area and international markets. Another is the gradual establishment of a "primary evaluation" regime for medicines and medical devices. They have substantially boosted the interest of Australian medical tech companies in developing their operations in Hong Kong.
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| Having a roundtable discussion with the senior staff of around 10 local financial institutions at the HKETO, Sydney. |
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| Meeting with the representatives of Australian fintech startups in Sydney. |
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| Meeting with the representatives of biotech companies in Melbourne to promote Hong Kong's advantages in I&T development. |
In addition, the Australian business community is eager to learn more about the development opportunities in the GBA. During my trip, I took the opportunity to highlight this in several keynote speeches. In fact, the economic scale of the GBA, including Hong Kong and Macao, has surpassed that of Australia, exceeding RMB14 trillion, while the GBA's population is more than three times that of Australia. The GBA also hosts the advantages of an international financial centre and an I&T hub, effectively merging the strengths of the San Francisco Bay Area and the New York Bay Area. As further economic integration of the GBA progresses, whether through deeper I&T collaboration or enhanced connectivity in the financial realm, new opportunities are being created for Australian I&T and financial firms.
The pandemic and geopolitics had led to a decrease in the number of Australians visiting Hong Kong and the Mainland in recent years. This time, the personal interactions and exchanges had facilitated deeper understanding. Through a series of breakfast meetings, luncheons roundtable discussions, as well as a summit hosted by a major local media agency in Australia, we took part in thematic presentations and Q&A sessions, and gave information that helped the Australian business community and public gain a better understanding of Hong Kong. This is conducive to dispelling misunderstandings. I invited our Australian friends to visit Hong Kong to participate in various thematic conferences, exhibitions, and other activities. Some fintech practitioners told me they intended to form a delegation to attend the Hong Kong FinTech Week, which will be held in late October.
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| Visiting a biotech company specialising in cancer diagnostics in Sydney. |
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| Attending a business luncheon in Melbourne to promote Hong Kong's advantages as a wine trading centre. |
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| Having lunch with members of the Hong Kong community residing in Sydney to learn about their business, work and life there. |
Thematic conferences and events not only attract entrepreneurs and senior executives from various industries but also help boost business tourism in Hong Kong. From this Wednesday to Thursday, Hong Kong will host the 9th Belt and Road Summit, expected to attract around 6,000 participants from over 70 countries and regions, including more than 80 senior government officials and business leaders from the Belt and Road countries. During the Summit, over 800 one-on-one business matching sessions will be arranged for more than 280 projects. The Summit, themed "Building a Connected, Innovative and Green Belt and Road", closely aligns with the eight major steps our country is taking to pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and will help solidify Hong Kong's position as a key link and prime functional platform for Belt and Road projects and collaboration.
As regards I&T and investment, the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited will host its inaugural Hong Kong Start-up Investment and Development Summit, bringing together representatives from companies with cutting-edge technologies and senior executives from venture capital funds. Seeing from the perspectives of entrepreneurs and investors in the tech sector, this Summit will explore how to build a more comprehensive financing ecosystem to support the robust development of Hong Kong's I&T and entrepreneur ecosystem.
In the coming months, Hong Kong will host a variety of exciting mega events and large-scale activities, covering sports, arts and culture, as well as wine and dining. These events will be complemented by a series of international business conferences, providing business travellers with a richer itinerary and more programme options during their visit. This would encourage them to extend their stay in Hong Kong and bring their families along to enjoy the city.
The mega events and the large-scale activities to be held in Hong Kong this year are expected to generate more consumer spending and create greater economic value for the city. In the future, we will further enhance the promotion and marketing of these events, and better coordinate them to synergise their benefits, so that the flow of visitors and spending generated by the events can benefit the entire city more broadly.
September 8, 2024
