Hong Kong leader John Lee to visit Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam on third Asean trip in 2 years
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu will begin a six-day visit to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam on Sunday, accompanied by a high-level delegation of officials, lawmakers, business chamber heads and representatives from various sectors to explore opportunities and expand connections.
It will be the chief executive’s third trip to Asean countries since he took office two years ago. He said in a statement on Friday that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations accounted for nearly 13 per cent of Hong Kong’s external merchandise trade last year and represented substantial economic potential for the city.
Lee’s entourage will include Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun and Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah. The officials will be joined by 30 representatives from the financial services, transport, logistics, innovation and technology, and tourism sectors.
IT-sector legislator Duncan Chiu, who also joined Lee’s visit to Asean member countries Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia last July, said being part of the city leader’s delegation guaranteed meetings with top officials overseas. That would help pave the way for Hong Kong businesses to engage these officials more effectively in the future, he added.
“If we go there by ourselves, there’s a good chance we won’t meet the right people,” he said.
“By having the chief executive open the door for us, we can get to know each other and when I bring Hong Kong businesses to revisit the place, they will attach more importance to it.”
Agnes Chan Sui-kuen, chairwoman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, will visit all three countries as part of the delegation.
She said robust economic growth and influx of foreign investment in these countries had driven demand for professional services, a traditional strength of the city.
“Each Asean member country has a very different legal system, regulatory framework and culture,” she said.
“Professional services have played a major role in helping foreign investors to reduce risks and sort out the compliance issues at the early stage.”
The city’s largest business chamber will sign two memorandums of understanding with its Vietnamese counterparts, with Chan noting that Vietnam was selected as a country of interest by the largest number of members in a poll last month.
“With a population of about 100 million, Vietnam has a scale advantage and a greater pool of talent and resources to draw from, whereas there are about 17 million people in Cambodia and more than 7 million in Laos,” she added.
Vietnam was Hong Kong’s seventh-largest trading partner in 2023, with a trade volume of US$31.5 billion. Meanwhile, the city’s trade with Laos last year amounted to US$17 million, the lowest figure among Asean member countries.
Winnie Lam Wing-yee, general secretary of the Hong Kong Business Association Vietnam, revealed that they have been given a private session to exchange views with the city leader.
She said while Hong Kong authorities had introduced a new multi-entry visa for Vietnamese visitors last October, getting one still felt harder than getting one for the United States for many.
“The Hong Kong government has given us a lot of hope that the relationship between Hong Kong and Vietnam will keep on improving and we are really hopeful that they will continue to improve the visa situation to benefit tourism,” she said.
“Hong Kong has lots of room to advance if only we can make it easier for businessmen to come and go.”
Heads of the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries will also join the trip.
Lee will first spend three days in Vientiane, the Laotian capital, before heading to Phnom Penh in Cambodia on Tuesday. He will then visit Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for the remainder of the week before returning to Hong Kong on Friday.
