Chief Executive John Lee will lead a delegation to visit three ASEAN countries, including Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, later this month. Legislative Council Member Duncan Chiu will accompany the delegation to study the situation there.
Chiu said that it would be more direct to visit the countries in person and communicate with them and that the high level of hospitality offered by the local governments was a sign of respect for the friendship and the deepening of economic and trade relations.
"It is very important to meet the representatives of the local chambers of commerce again after the outbreak of the pandemic, and to promote the cooperation between Hong Kong and the ASEAN countries," he noted.
Chiu further pointed out that this year, Hong Kong has many products that can be sold to Southeast Asia, and he believed that they will recognize Hong Kong's standards and technology.
"Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, with a combined population of over 120 million and a GDP of over US$300 billion, are huge markets... Hong Kong has been working closely with Vietnam and Cambodia in the industrial sector, and in the technology sector, Hong Kong companies have been outsourcing development work to Vietnam in the past."
According to Chiu, coupled with the improvement in the English standard of local young people in recent years, Vietnam has become one of the major choices for software outsourcing for IT companies. In terms of venture capital, many Hong Kong application IT start-ups have expanded their business to Southeast Asian countries in recent years, and Vietnam is the first choice for landing in the country, he added.
However, Chiu emphasized that Hong Kong's technology sector is still experiencing a shortage of manpower, and "outsourcing" some of the work to Vietnam can help alleviate the problem.
"It is hoped that through this visit, we can expand the number of counterparts in different areas and start cooperation with them."
Comment