CE's visits reinforce HK's ties to ASEAN

Paul Surtees discusses mutual benefits arising from boosting relations with Southeast Asian countries including increased trade and closer cultural links

For Hong Kong, as a Chinese city, the field of international diplomatic relations is, according to the Basic Law, the responsibility of the central government. But there is much that leading officials in Hong Kong government can do themselves - and are already doing - to help boost our trade relations internationally. In this context, it has been well worthwhile for the new Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to make her first overseas visits to Singapore and Thailand. These visits, while rather short, were nevertheless productive.

Last year, Hong Kong opened a new Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia. During the CE's time in Bangkok, the Thai prime minister invited the SAR government to open one in Thailand. This is a welcome offer, which hopefully will be taken up soon. Seeking ways and means to support Hong Kong's key role as an international business city has naturally been the main focus of these visits. But the cultural side has not been neglected. Potential additional collaborative trade opportunities were widely explored in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Additionally, at Singapore's Arts House, the CE opened an exhibition of photographs taken by a Singapore photographer, showing life in Hong Kong in the 1950s. As Lam noted, that was a transitional period of many great challenges for the expanding Hong Kong population of the time - including many poverty-stricken refugees. These striking images give glimpses of the can-do spirit of Hong Kong people. This interesting collection of 50-year-old photographs could be sent on a longer tour to other countries in Asia, and indeed beyond. They are very significant because they depict earlier and difficult times in Hong Kong's remarkable history.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc represents a vitally important trading partner for Hong Kong. Coming closely behind the mainland itself, ASEAN is Hong Kong's second-largest trading partner. Hong Kong imported HK$570 billion in goods from ASEAN countries last year; indeed, trade with ASEAN represented about 11 percent of Hong Kong's trade last year. It is only right that our new CE seeks to further boost the city's already long-established and strong trading ties with Thailand and Singapore.

Hong Kong's well-established role as a business gateway into the Chinese mainland is still very important and beneficial. Over recent years, the re-export of goods from Hong Kong to the mainland has been growing at about 5 percent per year. We have some 550 enterprises from ASEAN based in Hong Kong, of which more than 50 have their head offices in Hong Kong. Many ASEAN goods reach the mainland via Hong Kong.

Amid calls for greater economic cooperation between Hong Kong and ASEAN member states, especially with Thailand and Singapore, while the CE was there, a solid step in this direction was achieved in Bangkok. A letter of intent, on trade promotion and further cooperation, was signed in Bangkok between Thailand's Department of International Trade Promotion and the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council. Late last month Thailand hosted a two-day meeting of the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiating committee in Bangkok. Looking ahead, it is expected the FTA between Hong Kong and the ASEAN bloc will be signed later this year.

Thailand is often seen as a key member of ASEAN. The importance of this was reflected in the priority given to arranging one of the new CE's first overseas visits to Bangkok. For Thailand, Hong Kong is their ninth-biggest trading partner, with about 430 billion Thai baht ($13 billion) in trade reported last year. Hong Kong investors brought almost 9 billion baht into Thailand last year.

For ASEAN, Hong Kong represents their seventh-biggest trading partner. The gigantic scope of such exchanges speaks for itself of the importance of these trading links, with some HK$800 billion of merchandise trading between ASEAN and Hong Kong during 2015.

Then there is tourism, which is growing in both directions. Some 750,000 Hong Kong residents (including this writer) visited Thailand last year; while almost 600,000 Thais visited the SAR. The many direct flights, including by budget airlines, do much to facilitate this traffic.

Hong Kong's financial services are a byword for efficiency, making it a global financial center. It is thought that some ASEAN nations may seek to further enhance their own service standards to match.

These friendly direct contacts between two of the ASEAN countries and Hong Kong could well represent a productive start. Further CE visits to a number of other ASEAN capitals are surely recommended in the future.

(HK Edition 08/09/2017 page7)