Belt, Road can help HK, says Leung

Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s outgoing chief execu-tive, has urged the city to grab the opportunities presented by the Greater Bay Area —part of the national strat-egy behind the Belt and Road Initiative — and leverage its unique advantages to speed up development over the next decade. “I’m very optimistic about the future of Hong Kong, in terms of both economy and social development,” he said. “China’s reform and opening-up and the national strategy to develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are two wings that can help Hong Kong fl y high.” The bay area covers 56,500 square kilometers and com-prises 11 cities — the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and the cities of Guangzhou, Shen-zhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhong-shan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing in Guangdong province. “As the region has a popula-tion of 67.7 million and annual GDP of $1.3 trillion, it will definitely help Hong Kong overcome the bottlenecks of its economic development, including a severe lack of land resources and a shortage of labor,” said Raymond Tam, the Hong Kong Special Adminis-trative Region’s secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs. In April, Leung and other senior Hong Kong govern-ment offi cials paid a three-day visit to construction sites in the Greater Bay Area. Hong Kong will give full play to its competitive advan-tages while tapping into the complementary strengths of its partner cities, said Leung, who on July 1 will step down to make way for incoming chief executive Carrie Lam. With the completion of several giant infrastructure projects, including bridges, highways and bullet trains connecting the city with neighboring regions on the mainland and Macao, he said Hong Kong will see a blue-print to play a crucial role as the “super coordinator” between the mainland and the world. “Our advantages are obvi-ous and unique under the principle of one country, two systems. Our services, includ-ing legal services, enjoy prefer-ential access to the mainland market under the Closer Eco-nomic Partnership Arrange-ment,” he said. Leung said Hong Kong also is a highly international society, and that community is familiar with its legal system and the common law.“In short, our trilingual abil-ity and international network make us an ideal partner in legal services for both the mainland and international companies,” he said. “We can help foreign enterprises grow into the mainland market, and partner with mainland fi rms in expanding into for-eign markets, including those along the Belt and Road.” Last year, the SAR’s govern-ment set up a Belt and Road office to map out strategies and policies, helping local companies and professionals in reaching out. The Hong Kong Monetary Author-ity’s Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Offi ce, also set up last year, has helped compa-nies invest in infrastructure. According to Yvonne Y.P. Choi, commissioner for the Belt and Road office, the expansion of trade, invest-ment and infrastructure con-struction along the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Cen-tury Maritime Silk Road will surely lead to a rise in demand for legal services, including for contract negotiations, con-tract management and dis-pute resolution. In fact, footprints of Hong Kong professionals and enter-prises can already be found in Belt and Road countries. Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, the secretary for justice, has been promoting Hong Kong’s legal and dispute resolution services around the world. A $200 million profes-sional services advancement program launched in Novem-ber also supports Hong Kong professionals in enhancing exchanges and cooperation outside the city.

Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s outgoing chief executive