HK a ‘services platform’ for Belt and Road Financial chief says city’s professionals can offer top talent for strategic plan
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Sunday Hong Kong is capable of becoming a high-end professional services platform under the Belt and Road Initiative and capitalizing on the national strategic plan.
Writing in his Sunday blog, he stressed that apart from the city’s most competitive financial industry, Hong Kong has abundant talents with international experience and vision in accounting, law, engineering, management, construction and other fields.
Many people may still see the Belt and Road Initiative as a remote topic, perceiving it as political rhetoric that would bring the city little real benefits but, on the contrary, the fact that companies have been actively taking part in construction projects under the initiative and have gained valuable experience is never empty talk, he said.
Hong Kong’s professional services sector has businesses and networks around the world, with unrivaled edges, especially in dealing with the Chinese mainland enterprises compared with other regions and areas.
In recent years, Chan said, Hong Kong companies have actively participated in a good number of infrastructure and development projects, including airports, railways, highways, piers and city planning in Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle Asia, as well as Central and Eastern Europe. This has enabled Hong Kong companies to accumulate valuable experience by par- ticipating in infrastructural projects in countries and regions involved in the initiative.
Besides, the city’s logistics companies have also made inroads into Russia, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, all of which have demonstrated Hong Kong companies’ diversified engagement with the countries and regions involved.
Secretary for Development Eric Ma Siu-cheung also urged the SAR’s professional services sector to seize the vast opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative to vigorously explore the infrastructural markets.
He said since the handover, Hong Kong has vastly benefited from the “One Country, Two Systems” policy, with its construction sector actively involved in cross-boundary cooperation.
“We hope to raise Hong Kong’s professional engineering techniques and experience to a higher and broader level, with the Belt and Road Initiative,” Ma said.
Last month, the MTR Academy signed a memorandum of understanding with Mass Rapid Transit Jakarta to support the development of Indonesia’s first mass transit railway system, which is due to open in 2019. That, Ma said, proves that business opportunities will emerge with growing mutual understanding between Hong Kong and the world.
Hong Kong will host another Belt and Road summit in September with a view to continuing tapping the city’s “super-connector” potential and further opportunities for its various sectors to take part in and benefit from the nation’s development.