Hong Kong signs deals worth US$1 billion with belt and road countries Hong Kong has signed nine agreements with belt and road countries, with companies sealing dozens of business deals worth nearly US$1 billion (HK$7.8 billion), the city’s leader announced at a major summit, pledging to enter into more collaborations in the future. At the 10th edition of the two-day Belt and Road Summit on Wednesday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also said Hong Kong’s external trade with countries under the initiative exceeded US$276 billion last year, an 80 per cent increase since 2013 and three times the average growth rate of the city’s overall merchandise trade over the same period. Hong Kong’s direct investment in belt and road countries also reached US$133 billion in 2023, which was 3.6 times the amount in 2013, he added. The Belt and Road Initiative refers to Beijing’s scheme to link dozens of economies in Asia, Europe and Africa into a China-centred trade network. More than 90 speakers from 18 belt and road economies are attending the two-day summit, themed “Collaborate for Change. Shape a Shared Future”. Among the guests are Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, Uzbekistan’s deputy economy and finance minister, Umid Abidkhadjaev, and Khaled Al Khattaf, CEO of the Saudi Investment Promotion Authority. Lee revealed that the city was set to sign nine memorandums of understanding and agreements with belt and road countries “on official cooperation in dispute avoidance and resolution, customs, anti-corruption, meteorology, investment promotion and more” during the summit, which was co-organised by the government and the Trade Development Council. Up to 36 business-to-business agreements and deals would also be struck in the areas of finance, technology, logistics, professional services and education, he added. “Thanks to projects and deals closed in recent days, their total value is now close to US$1 billion,” Lee said. “And that’s just the beginning – the beginning of another decade of business, of investment and of cooperation.” During his speech, Lee highlighted the city’s newly established International Organisation for Mediation headquarters “as the world’s first intergovernmental legal body dedicated to resolving international disputes through mediation”. Lee added that the city’s financial sector had supported a recent 2 billion yuan (US$280.8 million) “dim sum bond” issued by the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, the first Chinese currency bond from a Central Asian government-owned entity in Hong Kong. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po told the summit that Hong Kong’s financial ties with Central Asian nations, particularly Kazakhstan, were growing. “We firmly believe that Hong Kong can play a pivotal role in driving global green transition,” he added, and that the city’s sustainable debt issuances were substantial, with “green bonds accounting for about 45 per cent of the region’s total”. Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok said that Hong Kong played a crucial role in dispute resolution for belt and road projects. “Hong Kong is the only common law jurisdiction in China,” he said, providing a familiar framework for international businesses. “The conclusion and execution of belt and road projects, irrespective of their nature, are bound to involve transboundary legal issues. “In order to safeguard and promote the parties’ interests, and as an essential component of risk management, international legal services are inevitable.” Council chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang earlier noted Hong Kong’s role as a “superconnector” and “super value-adder” in facilitating opportunities across markets, including Southeast and Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. “We can find solutions to global challenges together and set the pace for our future, for the benefit of us all,” he said. Professor Terence Chong Tai-leung, executive director of the Lau Chor Tak Institute of Global Economics and Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the agreements did not have significant economic importance but showed the city’s value. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3324990/hong-kong-ink-9-agreements-seal-deals-worth-us1-billion-belt-and-road-countries (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post