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Hong Kong offers enormous hope
MY first visit to Darwin was just before the start of the direct flight between Darwin and Shenzhen.
I was in Darwin again last week to speak at the One Belt One Road Conference organised by the Northern Territory Branch of the Australian China Business Council.
I spoke with government and business leaders who convinced me that the Northern Territory is on the right track to strengthen its ties with our part of the world. I strongly urge them to make Hong Kong part of their visits to China in the future.
Darwin is at the southern end of the Maritime Silk Road and Hong Kong is your partner in grasping the opportunities the Belt and Road offers. That was the reason I entitled my speech at the recent Belt and Road Conference, “Hong Kong: the Belt and Road’s GPS”. The P in fact stands for policy, positioning, professional services, project and partnering.
Hong Kong has strong ties with Australia. More than 100,000 Australians live in Hong Kong while more than 600 Australian companies operating in Hong Kong enjoy the distinct advantages inherent in the “One Country, Two Systems” framework that has propelled our development in the past 21 years.
According to the ABS, Hong Kong-Australia bilateral trade grew 11.9 per cent to $A18.76 billion in 2017 and Hong Kong visitors to Australia increased 13.8 per cent last year to 282,100 people.
Hong Kong is strategically located in the heart of Asia, a mere five hours from half of the world’s population.
Hong Kong International Airport handled 72 million passengers in 2017 alone and every day 1100 flights take travellers to 220 destinations.
These numbers are set to grow even further, as the third runway nears completion. When it begins operation in a few years, the airport will handle 100 million passengers annually. Hong Kong is, of course, a major link to Mainland China with major land crossings between the two. This network will soon be expanded, with three soon-to-be completed major pieces of cross-boundary infrastructure.
The Hong Kong-ZhuhaiMacao Bridge will cut the travelling time between Zhuhai and Kwai Chung Container Terminal from nearly four hours to just over one hour. Travelling time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong International Airport will also be reduced, from four hours to about 45 minutes.
Better still, transporting people between the thriving economies around Hong Kong will be easier than ever before with the addition of the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, which will see the travel time to Guang- zhou slashed to a mere 48 minutes. Adding to this is a new border crossing – the seventh land boundary control point – at Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai, which will enhance connections between Hong Kong and the eastern part of Shenzhen.
Hong Kong is also among the world’s most competitive economies, embracing the free flow of capital, goods, information and talent.
Through the Belt and Road Initiative, Hong Kong will feature as a point of transnational and intercontinental connectivity. For policy, Hong Kong has entered into a collaborative and co-operative arrangement with the Central Government to fully participate in and capitalise on the opportunities of the Belt and Road Initiative.
For positioning, Hong Kong enjoys unique advantages under “One Country, Two Systems” providing international businesses exceptional access through Hong Kong into the markets along the Belt and Road. Our world-class professionals in financial services, engineering, architecture, urban planning, surveying and consulting have the experience and knowledge to lead the Belt and Road projects.
Our deep liquidity, premier financial infrastructure and comprehensive options for raising capital, from the traditional IPOs and loan syndication to bonds and green finance, Hong Kong can meet the financing needs of any mega Belt and Road infrastructure project. Certainly, there will be a broader use of Renminbi in global trade, investment and foreign reserves and in Belt and Road projects. Hong Kong is the largest offshore Renminbi business hub in the world, with a pool of over $A121 billion, at the end of 2017. We handle about 76 per cent of offshore Renminbi transactions worldwide.
As a common law jurisdiction, Hong Kong remains the perfect hub for the Belt and Road’s legal matters and for resolving business disputes.
The international community is familiar with Hong Kong’s common law system, underpinned by an independent judiciary and a very robust intellectual property rights protection regime. Arbitration awards made in Hong Kong are enforceable in over 150 jurisdictions. Hong Kong is the platform for you to find the right partners, whether it is an equity partner, or a partner for the operation and management of infrastructure.
Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTR) already operates part of the rail service in Melbourne, Stockholm and the Cross Rail in London. MTR is also the major operator participant of Sydney Metro Northwest, currently building the Australia’s first fully automated rapid transit network (worth $A3.7 billion) to be completed in 2019.
Hong Kong stands ready to be your GPS in the Belt and Road Initiative. Set your destination, we will get you there!
Raymond Fan is the director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office based in Sydney