Speeches

Dinner Gathering in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

Following is the speech by the Director-General of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO), Mr Law Kin-wai at the Dinner Gathering in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam today (January 8):

Ambassador Yu, Peter (Regional Director of HKTDC), Mrs Siti Norishan (Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Malcolm (President of Chinese Chamber of Commerce), [Name of Deputy President of Brunei Malay Chamber of Commerce to be provided], distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Happy New Year! A very good evening to all of you.

I am very happy to be back, particularly with all of you to celebrate the New Year here with us. Let me wish you all a very happy and prosperous year ahead!

Updates on developments in Hong Kong
ASEAN is an area of opportunities and high growth potential. As a whole, ASEAN is the second largest trading partner of Hong Kong in the world, with merchandise trade around USD 136 billion (HKD 1.07 trillion) in 2018 (increased by 14.2% year-on-year).

Located at the centre of the region, Brunei is definitely one of the important partners for Hong Kong in our endeavour to further strengthen ties with the ASEAN. I always think that Brunei and Hong Kong share a lot of areas of commonalities and economic interests. New developments in Hong Kong are presenting opportunities and momentum to our friends here. On this, let me take this opportunity to share with you some updates.

There is high complementarity between Hong Kong and Brunei in areas such as professional services, trade and investment.

With the advantage of “one country, two systems”, an excellent environment for doing business, and quality professional services, Hong Kong is well-positioned to help Bruneian enterprises tap into the opportunities brought about by the Belt & Road Initiative, and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area or better known as the Greater Bay Area.

The Hong Kong-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the related Investment Agreement which covers trade, investment, economic and technical co-operation, and dispute settlement mechanisms came into force in June 2019. The two Agreements will undoubtedly bring the co-operation between Hong Kong and ASEAN to a new level. This would also provide Brunei and the businesses to with a ready tool and platform to pursue further and diversified economic development. We do encourage Bruneian businessmen to make the most out of the benefits of the Agreements.

There is definitely a big potential for the two places to grow together.

Conclusion
Once again, I thank you all for your support in the past and look forward to working together to further strengthen the ties between Hong Kong and Brunei, as well as ASEAN.

Please enjoy the evening. Thank you!

Ends/Wednesday, January 8, 2020