Leung Chun-ying calls for more Hong Kong trade with Asean nations
Hong Kong should boost its presence in Southeast Asian countries to reap the benefits of Beijing's "One Belt, One Road" development initiative, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying says.
Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing called for efforts to prove any plans to use public funds to open new government offices were worthwhile.
Leung spoke on Friday after his return from Indonesia, where he held talks with the country's President Joko Widodo.
"We hope to set up a trade office in Jakarta, Indonesia, in addition to the 11 overseas economic and trade offices we currently have, to further develop our trade relations with Southeast Asia," Leung said.
The government also planned to set up a special office in Hong Kong to help oversee the central government's project, he said. "We are lagging behind the times in developing trade relations with the Southeast Asian market."
He said he looked forward to signing a free trade deal with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year.
The "One Belt, One Road" scheme aims to boost trade and infrastructure links with countries from Asia to Africa.
Despite territorial disputes between China and some Southeast Asian countries, Hong Kong enjoyed good trade relations with Asean members, Leung noted.
He said ample opportunities existed for various sectors locally, including professional services, logistics and the design industry.
But the chief executive warned that the city's initiatives to reach out to its regional trade partners could be scuppered if pan-democrats continued to obstruct funding requests.
Salaries and expenses for overseas economic and trade offices will run to about HK$355 million for 2015-16, a rise of about 8 per cent on last year, according to government data.
"We support trade development," Lau said. "We need to discuss and study the plans first, making sure they can improve Hong Kong's economy."
