Hong Kong’s John Lee expected to visit Greater Bay Area ‘very soon’ to connect region with Middle East SMEs, as leader hails positive Saudi Aramco meeting
- Chief Executive John Lee says he met Saudi Aramco bosses under ‘very positive atmosphere’ but did not reveal the extent of talks to lure company to list in city
- Source says Lee’s bay area visit will happen very soon as many SMEs in the Middle East had expressed an interest in the region
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Lee revealed he was “likely” to also visit Southeast Asian countries under the Asean regional economic bloc and the bay area. A source familiar with Lee’s schedule said the visit to the bay area would happen “very soon” as many SMEs in the Middle East had expressed an interest in the region comprising Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland Chinese cities.
The leader believed the city could play a critical role in connecting the two sides, the source added.
Lee called his stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) “fruitful” after setting up 13 non-binding agreements involving enterprises and business chambers, while adding his meeting with Amin Nasser, president and CEO of state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco, on Monday was held under a “very positive atmosphere” in which both sides touched on issues of mutual interest.
“Both agreed that we will continue with close communications, so we can help each other understand things we want to know about more,” Lee told the press on Friday in Dubai, his final stop.
“We welcome Aramco to invest in Hong Kong … We will keep working on it. The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has been very popular, and we have been strengthening its rules relating to economic development as market trends change.”
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The 30-strong delegation’s high-profile visit to the Gulf states came three months after the city’s finance minister revealed on his trip to Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, that the Hong Kong stock exchange had reached out to the oil giant to lure investment.
Lee made clear at the beginning of the trip that convincing Saudi Aramco and its subsidiaries to invest or do a secondary listing in Hong Kong was one of his goals. The oil giant first went public domestically in 2019 in what was the world’s biggest-ever stock listing.
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A government source said the chief executive’s trip created favourable conditions and paved the way for investors in the Gulf region to invest not only in Hong Kong, but also in the bay area, Beijing’s ambitious development plan for the 11 cities.
“Quite a number of funds and companies in the Middle East have expressed interest in Hong Kong and the GBA, but they don’t know how. That is why the chief executive will embark on another trip to the GBA to connect them with the mainland,” the source said, citing Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment in Abu Dhabi and investment company Dubai Holding as some examples.
On Friday, the city leader also said they had “positive relationships” with those groups he had visited and welcomed them to capitalise on Hong Kong to woo Chinese investors.
The Hong Kong delegation exchanged 13 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and letters of intent involving enterprises and trade groups with Arab counterparts.
Hong Kong also launched negotiations in Riyadh on an agreement to promote investment between the two economies.
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Lee described his visits as centred on “strengthening friendship, further promoting Hong Kong’s strengths, and expanding business opportunities” and said both economies had ambitious visions on innovation and technology, as well as green and sustainable development.
While Lee said the Middle Eastern nations would continue to be important collaborative partners with Hong Kong, he revealed his next destination was likely to be Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, with the goal to “obtain the best result within the shortest time”.
“We are close neighbours. The relationship is strong. I want to raise it to a stronger position,” he said. “I also want to capitalise on the good relationship to have more support for our accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership [RCEP].”
Last November, Lee had said all 10 Asean member states of the RCEP, the world’s largest free trade deal, welcomed Hong Kong’s request for early accession.
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On Thursday, Lee also met Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE and crown prince of Dubai, and visited the Museum of the Future.
The latest MOU was signed between Hong Kong Cyberport and the Dubai Future Foundation, forming a useful basis for technological cooperation and exchange of ideas.
The government source said business groups in the Gulf states would organise trips to Hong Kong to assess the investment environment, including to the Monetary Authority.
Hong Kong authorities would offer them support by organising forums to deliver more information about investing in the Greater Bay Area.
“In fact, they can even do it through Cepa,” the source added, referring to the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, an agreement between Hong Kong and the mainland.
Cepa allows businesses set up in Hong Kong to gain greater access to the mainland market. It also serves as a springboard for mainland enterprises to reach out to the global market.
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Dubai Chambers said the setting up of an office in Hong Kong was part of the crown prince’s initiative that aimed to launch 50 globally by 2030.
Its chairman Abdul Aziz Abdulla Al Ghurair said the MOU signed with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council during Lee’s visit would further strengthen long-standing relations with the region.
One of the 30 delegates, lawmaker Jesse Shang Hailong, also managing director of artificial intelligence firm SenseTime Hong Kong, said he was impressed by the model of Dubai International Financial Centre, which was designed to empower technology and innovation companies.
“The tech-driven financial centre places our best technology company downtown, and operates a unique legal and regulatory framework. The so-called ‘one country within one country’ model is inspiring,” he told the Post.
Executive Council member Eliza Chan Ching-har, also a delegate, said Lee’s mission demonstrated Hong Kong’s return to the world stage and its long-existing role as a facilitator of the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s plan to grow global trade.
“This mission has also facilitated more Saudi and UAE enterprises to make use of Hong Kong as a gateway for tapping the enormous market potential of the Chinese mainland and Asia,” she said.
Allen Shi Lop-tak, president of the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, said it was not easy for local small and medium-sized firms to diversify manufacturing bases amid geopolitical tensions.
“Participating in Chinese-funded overseas industrial parks is undoubtedly a short cut for us to expand our bases,” he said.
Lee’s delegation departed for Hong Kong on Friday afternoon after attending a lunch hosted by the Chinese Business Council in the UAE.
