The Belt and Road Office of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) and the Commercial Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (LOCPG) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) jointly held the second webinar on business development in Economic and Trade Co-operation Zones (ETCZs) located in member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) today (June 22).
Targeting Hong Kong enterprises that are interested in expanding their businesses in the ETCZs in ASEAN, the webinar sought to enhance their understanding of prevailing local investment policies, facilities and supporting services, as well as preferential terms of the ETCZs concerned, with a view to encouraging them to make the most of the Belt and Road Initiative by capitalising on the ETCZs.
Today's webinar introduced PT Kawasan Industri Terpadu Indonesia China and CFLD Karawang New Industry City in Indonesia, as well as Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone in Cambodia. The Commissioner for Belt and Road from the CEDB, Dr Denis Yip, and the Deputy Director-General of the Economic Affairs Department and Head of the Commercial Office of the LOCPG in the HKSAR, Mr Liu Yajun, spoke at the webinar. Around 400 people had registered to participate.
Dr Yip pointed out that 15 economies comprising China, the 10 member states of ASEAN, Australia, Japan, Korea and New Zealand in November last year signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is the largest free trade agreement in the world, covering about 30 per cent of the world's total merchandise trade. Against the global headwinds of protectionism, the signing and implementation of the RCEP will facilitate economic integration in the region and provide a momentous drive to global economic recovery in the post-pandemic era. The HKSAR Government has all along been seeking early accession to the RCEP to further strengthen the economic and trade ties between Hong Kong and the RCEP participating economies, in particular the trade flows and co-operation with ASEAN. The RCEP will not only facilitate Hong Kong enterprises' investment and construction in the region, but also integrate, reshape and enhance the regional supply chain, opening up bigger and more stable markets for the trade. Hong Kong enterprises developing their businesses in relevant ETCZs will also benefit from the RCEP. The HKSAR Government will continue to maintain close communication with the RCEP participating economies to seek their support on Hong Kong's accession to the RCEP as soon as possible after its entry into force.
He added that the CEDB and the Ministry of Commerce have been working closely on promoting the rigorous participation of Hong Kong in the Belt and Road Initiative. The two parties plan to jointly organise Hong Kong and Mainland enterprises to "go global" together again and visit the ETCZs after the pandemic stabilises. Interested Hong Kong enterprises and professional service sectors will be welcome to participate in these missions to forge partnerships with Mainland enterprises with a view to tapping into the business opportunities arising from post-pandemic economic recovery.
The Minister Counsellor of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Indonesia, Ms Shi Ziming, and the representative of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Kingdom of Cambodia, Mr Zhang Jin, introduced the investment environment and industrial development situation of Indonesia and Cambodia respectively. The management of the three ETCZs briefed the participants on the state of play of the relevant zones, and representatives of enterprises from those ETCZs spoke on their local investment experiences. The speakers also interacted with the webinar participants.
The first webinar was held last Tuesday (June 15) and introduced two ETCZs in Malaysia and Thailand. Together with the webinar held today, the two sessions introducing the five ETCZs located in four ASEAN countries have been successfully concluded.
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