Led by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, a business delegation of enterprises of Belt and Road countries operating in Hong Kong today (December 4) began in Shenzhen a two-day visit to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
Taking the opportunity to integrate the two important national development strategies of the Belt and Road Initiative (B&RI) and GBA development, the mission seeks to promote Hong Kong as a services hub in assisting enterprises to tap the Mainland market, riding fully on Hong Kong's distinctive role in connecting the Mainland and the rest of the world in "going global and attracting foreign investment" for the country.
The visit is the first business networking event organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government for enterprises of Belt and Road countries operating in Hong Kong. Members of the delegation include 20 representatives from 15 of these enterprises from countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, covering industries such as investment, finance, tourism, construction, environmental protection, energy and infrastructure. The Commissioner for Belt and Road, Mr Nicholas Ho; the Director-General of the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises, Mr Philip Yung; the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong, Miss Linda So; as well as representatives of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and Invest Hong Kong, also joined the visit.
The visit is arranged under the themes of "green development" and "innovation and technology" to proactively respond to "promoting green development" and "advancing scientific and technological innovation" of the eight major steps to support the high-quality development of the B&RI, as announced by President Xi Jinping at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, demonstrating the full support of the HKSAR Government in taking forward the eight major steps.
In the morning, Mr Yau led the delegation to visit the headquarters of BYD Company Limited to learn about its latest developments in areas such as vehicles, rail transit, ternary lithium batteries and blade battery nail test experiments. The delegates also experienced first hand the intelligent rail transit system, SkyShuttle.
At noon, Mr Yau hosted a welcome luncheon for the delegation. Speaking at the luncheon, he said that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the B&RI, under which Hong Kong is not only a "super connector", but also a "super value-adder". He added that Hong Kong has a lot to offer with its professional services sector, and enterprises would benefit a lot by utilising such world-class professional services.
A sharing session moderated by Mr Ho was featured at the luncheon for in-depth exchanges with Mr Yung, Miss So, the Director of Corruption Prevention of the ICAC, Mr Bryan Chong, and a number of representatives of the enterprises on Hong Kong's unique role and strengths in promoting the high-quality development of the B&RI, including the work of attracting strategic enterprises and promoting a clean Silk Road, to firmly take forward the eight major steps.
Mr Yau and the delegation visited Tencent's headquarters in the afternoon, and were briefed by its representative on digital transformation and financial solutions, artificial intelligence technology, as well as its services and products in the areas of social media and electronic games, and real-case applications in Southeast Asia.
The delegation later met with representatives of the Belt and Road Environmental Technology Exchange and Transfer Center (Shenzhen) (B&RETTC) to learn about its work and explore collaboration opportunities. Jointly established by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, the B&RETTC is a service platform for the Mainland and Belt and Road countries to promote international co-operation in environmental protection. Witnessed by Mr Yau and Mr Ho, four enterprises respectively signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the B&RETTC, laying a good foundation for further co-operation in promoting green development.
In the evening, Mr Yau and the delegation attended a dinner with Vice Mayor of Shenzhen Municipal People's Government Mr Wang Shourui. Mr Yau said that with the experience of this visit and a profound foundation of collaboration with the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, it is hoped that more diversified enterprises from Belt and Road countries operating in Hong Kong will have the opportunity to explore business opportunities in the GBA. He also looked forward to organising more visits with fruitful outcomes in future.
The delegation will conclude the visit in Shenzhen tomorrow morning (December 5), and proceed to Guangzhou in the afternoon to continue the visit.
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