Hong Kong needs to position itself as a credible value partner rather than just a professional broker, to facilitate Chinese mainland business firms’ high-quality going-out by providing end-to-end support across the entire business life cycle, experts say.

Panellists applauded the proposed new direction for the city at the “Future of Hong Kong Economy” conference organized by HKU Business School on Wednesday.

Deputy Secretary for Justice Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan said Hong Kong can continue to serve as a trusted platform for business growth in the region and beyond by bestowing legal certainty, professional services capability and boundless connectivity.

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“Spanning across legal, finance, accounting, tax, risk management, and dispute resolution, Hong Kong’s professional service ecosystem is integral to value creation by empowering businesses to manage risks effectively, tackling compliance issues skilfully, structuring transactions securely, and resolving disputes efficiently,” Cheung said.

The deputy justice secretary added that Hong Kong’s professional services teams provide end-to-end support across the entire business lifecycle — including market entry, project financing, intellectual property rights portfolio management, regulatory compliance, restructuring, and cross-border dispute resolution.

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Last December, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region launched the Hong Kong Professional Services GoGlobal Platform, aiming to provide enterprises with information on professional services providers and match the professional services needs of enterprises with providers. Earlier this month, the government also established the Expert Committee on Professional Services for Going Global on promoting Hong Kong as the premier two-way platform for attracting investment and going global.

“The wave of Chinese mainland companies going out is actually faster and stronger than ever. The point is how do we help them manage risks, understand the local culture and local ways of business, as well as connect them with the right players and the destinations that have the demand for mainland companies’ products or services,” said Alpha Lau Hai-suen, the director-general of Investment Promotion of Invest Hong Kong — the government agency tasked with attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) into Hong Kong.

She added the goal of establishing Hong Kong Professional Services GoGlobal Platform is to help mainland companies to venture out in a strategic and risk-managed way while understanding international ways of doing business without introducing so-called cutthroat competition.

Lau emphasized that Hong Kong once attracts mainland or global enterprises into the city, the government wants these companies to stay for the long-term in a bid to generate benefits to the economy.

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Hong Kong Monetary Authority Executive Director (Research) Zhu Haibin said he expects mainland technological innovation as well as the changes in the international trade networks and financial flows to redefine Hong Kong’s super-connector role.

The HKMA executive director highlighted Hong Kong’s role to support mainland enterprises going out is changing amid the background that the mainland is diversifying its export destinations, while the dynamics of FDI is changing in the mainland.

“The inward FDI into the Chinese mainland has been declining quite sharply in recent years, but mainland companies’ overseas investments have been quite strong. So many Hong Kong financial services and professional service providers are really changing gear to serve that demand,” Zhu explained.

Edward Yau Tang-wah, the former secretary for commerce and economic development, said “Hong Kong should be a creditable value partner instead of just a professional broker charging a professional fee. Hong Kong should be part of in the making of Hong Kong story instead of just telling the Hong Kong story.”