Hong Kong, with its capacity for fundraising and providing professional services, can help expanding Vietnamese enterprises tap overseas markets, while Vietnam can further its long-trusted collaboration with the SAR, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Tran Luu Quang said on Thursday at a high-level meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital.
With over 20 officials from both sides in attendance, the meeting took place at Vietnam Government Office, near the city’s Ba Dinh Square and the mausoleum of Vietnam’s former leader, Ho Chi Minh.
Following the meeting was a roundtable session, with business heavyweights from Hong Kong and Vietnam exchanging ideas on how to promote ties between the two places. During the session, Lee and Quang witnessed the signing of eight memorandums of understanding between Hong Kong’s and Vietnam’s public and private sectors.
Lee said the size and strength of the delegation he has led to Vietnam — which includes over 30 high-ranking officials and business executives from various industries — tell of Vietnam’s importance to Hong Kong.
In 2023, Vietnam was the city’s seventh-largest trading partner, and Hong Kong was Vietnam’s fifth-largest foreign investor. The trade volume between the two places surpassed $31.5 billion last year, 2.5 times that of 2013.
Venturing out would be a natural step for fast-growing Vietnamese firms, Lee said, adding that Hong Kong is an ideal place for such firms to go public and for fundraising activities.
The city’s high-quality financial, legal and professional services can also help ambitious Vietnamese firms tap greater markets, such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, an 11-city cluster with over 86 million potential consumers, said Lee.
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He added that Hong Kong companies have a strong interest in further exploring the Vietnamese market, as many of them have been doing over the past decades, and pledged the city would roll out more policies to facilitate their expansion into the country.
Quang called Hong Kong “friends and long-trusted partners” in his speech.
Recognizing Hong Kong’s role in Vietnam’s investments, he said the Vietnam government is “eager” to hear more voices and opinions from the Hong Kong business sector to further bolster trade and cooperation.
Aviation development between the two places was also highlighted, with three of the MOUs involving the Hong Kong Airport Authority. Other MOUs are aimed at scaling up collaboration in finance, trade and investment.
The Hong Kong parties involved in the signing of the MOUs include the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council — a public body dedicated to bolstering business —, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, InvestHK, and the city’s airport authority.
Signatories on Vietnam’s side include the country’s Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Vietnam Airlines.
The Chinese ambassador to Vietnam, Xiong Bo, attended both events.
In the afternoon, Lee planned to pay courtesy calls to President of Vietnam To Lam and ambassador Xiong Bo, respectively.
Prior to visiting Vietnam, the delegation’s trip had resulted in the signing of 25 MOUs — 12 in Laos and 13 in Cambodia, aimed at establishing closer economic and people-to-people ties between the Hong Kong SAR and the two economies.
The Hong Kong delegation landed in Hanoi on Wednesday night and dined with representatives from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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Lee and other Hong Kong delegates are scheduled to visit Ho Chi Minh City, the largest metropolis in Vietnam, later on Thursday and to spend another day there on business before returning to Hong Kong on Friday night.
Over the past few days, they have met with political and business leaders in Laos and Cambodia, and have interacted with local students and professionals.
