Hong Kong’s leader has said he will encourage Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco and its subsidiaries to invest and list in the city during his visit to the kingdom, while announcing the two regions will soon launch talks on a deal to enhance mutual investment flows. Confirming a Post report, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Sunday revealed after arriving in Saudi capital Riyadh that he would meet top executives of the state-owned oil company during the first part of his weeklong trip to the Middle East. Lee said he would highlight what Hong Kong had to offer as an international financial centre, as well as an asset and risk management hub. “With our pool of professionals and free flow of capital, Hong Kong has been a popular destination for sovereign funds and companies [for listings],” he said. “Saudi Aramco’s businesses are very diversified with its different subsidiaries. I will try my best to encourage them to come to Hong Kong for participation, including listing in the city.” The oil producer, one of the world’s most valuable companies, had previously considered an overseas listing, but ultimately decided to list domestically on the Saudi stock exchange in 2019. It now has a market capitalisation of around US$2 trillion, making it one of the world’s largest listed companies. Aramco has three domestically listed subsidiaries – Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company (Luberef), Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) and Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical (PetroRabigh). Luberef was the most recently listed, having completed its initial public offering in December with the sale of a 30 per cent stake. Hong Kong leader to meet ‘senior Saudi officials, bosses of oil giant Aramco’ on trip Lee was welcomed at King Khalid International Airport by Badr AlBadr, deputy minister of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment, Hamad Aljebreen, consul-general of Saudi Arabia in Hong Kong, and Yin Lijun, deputy chief of mission of the Chinese embassy in the country. After visiting the ministry in the morning, Lee announced that the two economies would launch negotiations on an investment promotion and protection agreement, in the hope of deepening business ties. “The negotiations will send a positive signal to the business communities of the two places, and help strengthen investor confidence and expand bilateral investment flows,” he wrote on his Facebook page. Hong Kong has signed 22 such agreements with other economies including the United Arab Emirates and Asean countries. Negotiations are under way with Iran, Russia and Turkey. The frameworks give investors an additional assurance that ventures on both sides are protected with non-discriminatory treatment. Simon Lee Siu-po, an honorary fellow of the Asia-Pacific Institute of Business at Chinese University, said the negotiations were the start of the two places developing economic ties. “It’s a way for Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia to express interests and explore business opportunities with each other. But the progress could take a while until they sign the agreement,” he said. Earlier on Sunday, John Lee said the delegation he was leading would explore how Hong Kong could complement Saudi Arabia’s ambitious economic diversification blueprint, “Vision 2030”, which aimed to reduce its reliance on oil revenue as the world’s largest exporter of the fuel. “We hope to let them know about Hong Kong’s strengths which could also tap into Saudi Arabia’s vision,” he said. The key goals of the project, unveiled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016, include increasing non-oil international trade to become a “global investment powerhouse” and developing tourism and recreation sectors. Lee pledged that “a considerable number of agreements” would be reached during his visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The ministry introduced the kingdom’s latest developments to some of the business leaders and professionals in the 30-strong Hong Kong delegation on Saturday, said architect Nicholas Ho Lik-chi, one of the group. He said the Saudi authorities had been ambitious in enticing technologies, services and talent to the kingdom to involve them in its diversification blueprint. “Officials highlighted that they remained the fastest growing economy among the Group of 20 countries despite the epidemic. The many signs of commitment we see here impressed many of us,” he told the Post. The International Monetary Fund said in a report last October that Saudi Arabia’s economic growth during 2022 stood at 7.6 per cent despite rising inflation and soaring interest rates, and kept its forecast at 3.7 per cent for 2023. It was understood that some of the delegates visited the stock exchange in Riyadh and also headed to investment banks. The high-level trip comes two months after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia for the China-Gulf summit with leaders in the region. Hong Kong to attract Middle East companies with promotion drive: finance chief On Sunday afternoon, Lee and the delegation were given a tour of an exhibition about The Line, a planned linear smart city in the country’s northwest that runs entirely on renewable energy and without cars. The ambitious project comprises a 500-metre-tall wall-like structure to provide homes for up to 9 million people at an estimated cost of at least US$100 billion. On Monday, the city leader will attend the LEAP Tech Conference where he is expected to meet more officials before departing for the United Arab Emirates. On the same day, part of the delegation will visit Sabic, a chemical manufacturing company based in Riyadh with around 70 per cent of its shares owned by Saudi Aramco. Additional reporting by Oscar Liu