“This will be able to contribute to a boost in business and tourism activities, as well as people-to-people exchanges,” he said.

Lee thanked the Malaysian government for relaxing its visa requirements, which would provide “greater entry facilitation” for passport holders, according to a statement issued by the Hong Kong government. The Immigration Department also confirmed the new arrangement.

The chairman of Hong Kong’s Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Jonathan Choi Koon-shum, welcomed the longer period extension, saying “we can have all the time to do business in Malaysia”.

Choi, who is also the chairman of conglomerate Sunwah Group and travelled to Kuala Lumpur to meet Lee, said Anwar’s leadership had brought an end to political uncertainty and helped boost investor confidence.

Earlier in the day, Anwar also announced a new policy framework for growth that aimed to turn Malaysia into one of the world’s top 30 economies within a decade.

“It is about elevating the status and dignity of our nation, with two main focuses; restructuring the economy towards making Malaysia a leading Asian economy, and ultimately providing the people with the benefits to enjoy a better quality of life,” he was quoted by local media as saying.

Malaysia is currently under the purview of Hong Kong’s trade office in Jakarta, which was set up in 2016. The city operates outposts in Singapore and Bangkok, the latter of which was set up in 2019.

He added that many companies in recent years had explored investment opportunities in Southeast Asia as part of the so-called China-plus-one strategy, where investors look beyond the mainland to diversify their business operations.

“And if the government can have more representative office in the region to help provide local information or help work through red-tape, that would be useful,” he said.

Lee is leading a delegation of five top officials and 30 industry leaders from the finance, investment, business, legal, innovation and technology, and logistics sectors.

Hong Kong’s leader on Thursday also joined a lunch hosted by Beijing’s top envoy in Malaysia, Ouyang Yujing, and attended a dinner event with members of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia.

The city chief told local business leaders that immense potential existed to ramp up trade and investment cooperation between the two sides. The event was not open to the media.

Hong Kong and Malaysian companies are expected to sign a number of bilateral agreements at a business forum on Friday that Lee is due to attend, according to the country’s foreign affairs ministry. The chief executive is also scheduled to visit local companies.

According to Hong Kong government data, trade between the two places was worth HK$220 billion (US$28.1 billion) in 2022. They are each other’s ninth-largest trading partner.

David Sit Kwun-nam, assistant principal economist at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, said companies focused on consumer products might find opportunities for growth in Malaysia, given its citizens were relatively well-off, as would digital services and advanced manufacturing businesses.

Malaysia is Lee’s final stop of his three-nation tour that began on Sunday. He left Singapore on Tuesday after meeting Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and securing seven non-binding agreements covering collaboration in research and fintech.

In Indonesia, the city leader took a 30 minute ride on the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail link, being built by a consortium that includes Chinese state firms. Fifteen memorandums of understanding were signed during his visit to the capital.

All three leaders Lee met reaffirmed their support for the city’s accession to the deal, according to the chief executive.