Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, accompanied by a sizable delegation of top Hong Kong and Chinese mainland business executives and industry leaders, signals Hong Kong’s intention to move beyond earlier outreach to the Middle East and Southeast Asia to Central Asia as a new area of opportunity. The message is clear: The region is pursuing economic diversification and is ripe for inclusion in the road map of Hong Kong’s overseas economic expansion. For Hong Kong’s economy, this creates new openings in finance, trade services, infrastructure-related consulting, logistics solutions, innovation and technology, and green development.

Yet the strategic challenge for Hong Kong’s business community is not simply identifying opportunities; it is converting official exchanges and private-sector networking into sustained market participation through delivery capability, partner ecosystems, and disciplined deal execution. To capture these opportunities, Hong Kong firms must address several practical constraints that often undermine overseas commercial initiatives.

From relationship-building to market entry 

The first hurdle is moving from “being present” to “being effective”. Large delegations raise visibility and introduce counterparties, but most of Central Asia’s commercial value will only be realized once Hong Kong companies establish credibility in local markets by meeting procurement requirements, forming joint ventures, building channel partnerships, or establishing operational capabilities that can deliver consistently.

Hong Kong’s strengths lie primarily in professional services — finance, advisory, legal and compliance support, corporate services, and project-based expertise. But in high-value sectors such as logistics, infrastructure, and energy-related supply chains, counterparts often need implementation partners rather than just advisers. That means the business community must be ready to back relationship-based opportunities with credible delivery models: Local operational presence, staffing plans, and repeatable service frameworks that can withstand tender evaluation.

Logistics realities

Central Asia’s growth narrative naturally draws attention to logistics, trade facilitation, and supply-chain optimization. Yet the region’s geography also creates complexity. Central Asia is landlocked and dependent on cross-border routes, making execution sensitive to customs procedures, border-clearance timing, documentation accuracy, and coordination across multiple transport segments. Even where demand exists, delays or misalignment between route partners can quickly undermine project viability.

For Hong Kong businesses aiming to win logistics-related work, the challenge is to translate conceptual “connectivity” into operational competence. That includes understanding end-to-end supply chain requirements, offering practical solutions for warehousing and distribution, designing compliant freight processes, and partnering with local operators who control last-mile and regulatory interfaces. Firms that can combine financing or professional advisory services with implementable logistics tools — and demonstrate measurable gains in speed, reliability, and cost — are far more likely to secure recurring contracts.

Managing financial and transaction risk

Another major challenge lies in the financing and deal structuring aspects of Belt and Road Initiative-related cooperation. Central Asia’s diversification efforts may involve large projects and emerging investment ecosystems, but they also entail transaction risks: Credit risk, currency risk, settlement and payment risk, counterparty reliability, and the complexity of regulatory compliance across jurisdictions.

For Hong Kong’s finance- and fintech-oriented players, the opportunity is real, especially in sustainable finance, cross-border capital flows, risk management solutions, and investment facilitation. But success depends on being risk-ready: Meeting licensing requirements where applicable, ensuring robust sanctions screening and due diligence, managing liquidity and foreign exchange exposure, and designing structures that work under local regulatory and institutional conditions. In other words, capturing Central Asia’s promise requires disciplined governance and conservative risk management, not simply confidence in the growth narrative.

Matching capability to project needs

Lee’s Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan trip offers Hong Kong a strategic opportunity to expand its commercial role into a region actively reshaping its economic base

Central Asia’s diversification agenda spans finance, trade, infrastructure, tourism, and green development. Yet the specific needs of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan projects may not always align neatly with what some Hong Kong firms are accustomed to offering. Some companies may bring strong expertise but still miss which capability is most valuable to local stakeholders — whether financing, engineering support, procurement advisory, technology integration, or ecosystem building.

Hong Kong’s business community, therefore, needs better market intelligence and more sector-specific preparation. This includes identifying which industries are moving from planning to procurement, who the decision-makers are, which tender evaluation criteria will apply, and where Hong Kong’s competitive advantages are genuinely differentiated. The most effective approach is not broad engagement across many themes, but focused penetration: Selecting priority sectors, investing in targeted partnership models, and building proof-of-delivery records that demonstrate value in the local context.

Building ecosystems beyond Hong Kong

Opportunities in Central Asia will depend on local partners’ willingness and capacity to work with foreign counterparts through joint ventures, procurement partnerships, or long-term commercial arrangements. That takes time and relationship depth. Hong Kong and mainland firms may be strong at cross-border coordination, but they still need to build trust with local counterparts, align governance expectations, and manage operational differences in contracting and project execution.

In practice, this means Hong Kong’s business community should treat partnerships as an ecosystem strategy rather than a short-term outreach exercise. That can include recruiting local-facing teams, forming advisory boards with credible local involvement, identifying complementary partners already embedded in regional networks, and ensuring that contract performance is strong enough to generate referrals.

Turning opportunity into momentum

Lee’s Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan trip offers Hong Kong a strategic opportunity to expand its commercial role into a region actively reshaping its economic base. But the real test for Hong Kong’s economy is whether its business community can move from one-time engagement to durable participation. That requires market-entry capability, operational and logistics competence, risk-managed finance, tight sector matching, and locally credible ecosystems.

If Hong Kong companies approach Central Asia with discipline — backing relationships with delivery capacity, designing deals that can survive regulatory and financial complexity, and building partnerships that last — the new opportunity can translate into tangible economic benefits.

The author is vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Interactive Marketing and an adviser to the Film and TV School at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.