Speeches

Speech by the Director-General of Trade and Industry, Ms Maggie Wong, at the "Connecting Hong Kong and ASEAN" Luncheon (English only)
Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Following is the speech by the Director-General of Trade and Industry, Ms Maggie Wong, at the "Connecting Hong Kong and ASEAN" Luncheon on January 30:

Secretary Yau, Consuls-General, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon. I am very honoured to be speaking after the lively panel discussion. Allow me to thank Nic and the panelists again for their sharing and most importantly, for playing their part in connecting ASEAN and Hong Kong.

Indeed, every one of us here today are playing our unique part in building ASEAN/Hong Kong relationship. I would like to focus on what we do here in the Trade and Industry Department. We seek to support you through cultivating a facilitating and favourable environment. After forging a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) and investment agreement with ASEAN, we connect professional bodies and experts, many of whom are with us today, to participate in the ECOTECH projects, which is a unique feature under our free trade agreement with the ASEAN. Just in the last three months of 2023, the ECOTECH projects brought ASEAN start-up entrepreneurs¹, experts from Customs authorities as well as experts on Intellectual Property Rights to Hong Kong to participate in various international events and discussions. Going forward, our cold chain management as well as aquaculture experts will be heading to Thailand in February for an ECOTECH workshop on Post-harvest Practice for Fisheries Cold Chain Development; whilst our technical experts will be welcoming representatives from ASEAN Member States to Hong Kong for a 2-day capacity building training on retro-commissioning for improving energy efficiency of buildings. Taking this opportunity, I must express my heartfelt appreciation to all of our professionals and experts in supporting the ECOTECH projects and fostering a closer relationship between Hong Kong and ASEAN in your respective area of expertise.

Closer to home, my department also strives to ensure that Hong Kong's small and medium enterprises (SMEs), are well-equipped and ready to connect with ASEAN. One of our flagship initiatives is the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales, commonly known as the BUD Fund, which provides funding on a matching basis to non-listed Hong Kong enterprises in developing their businesses in the Mainland as well as economies with which Hong Kong has signed Free Trade Agreements or Investment Agreements. Under the BUD Fund, each eligible enterprise will be granted a maximum of HKD 1 million per project, up to a ceiling of HKD 7 million for multiple projects, to undertake a wide variety of activities, be it brand building, online / offline marketing, trade promotion, upgrading of sales / inventory / production system, etc.

At the moment, 38 markets are covered by the BUD Fund, including the Mainland of China as well as Hong Kong's FTA and Investment Agreement partners, that is ASEAN, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Korea, just to name a few. Of the funding granted to projects targeting our FTA / Investment Agreement partners, some 60%, i.e. HKD 657 million went to projects involving ASEAN, which is a clear testimony to the strong business interest in widening and deepening our commercial ties.

All non-listed companies registered and carry out substantive business operation in Hong Kong are eligible to apply for the BUD Fund, regardless of the origin of the capital. So, do spread the word to your business contacts at home or overseas, encourage them to set up a foothold in Hong Kong and use it as a base for tapping into the vast Mainland or even the RCEP markets.

Apart from funding schemes, my department also provides business information, theme-based sharings and referral services to SMEs. For example, in February last year, we co-organised a webinar with Indonesia Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong on "Business Guide to Indonesian E-Commerce Market", I believe more is in the pipeline and we are happy to collaborate with any of you here today.

Ladies and gentlemen, that brings me to the end of my "commercial time". My heartfelt thanks, once again, to Invest Hong Kong, Belt and Road Office and HKTDC for joining hands with us to organise this luncheon. I would also like to thank all our distinguished guests for your presence today. Allow me to join Secretary Yau in wishing you all a healthy, happy and prosperous year of the dragon. Thank you.

Ends

¹ HKTDC sponsored more than 20 start-up entrepreneurs from ASEAN to Hong Kong to participate in the HKTDC Electronic Fairs from 13 to 16 October 2023. TID, together with HKTDC and InvestHK also organized a seminar during the HKTDC Electronic Fairs to promote the AHKFTA and ECOTECH Work Programme.