Southeast Asia, Middle East eye deeper business ties with Hong Kong
Belt and Road Summit: a deep talent pool and financial and legal acumen make the city an ideal partner for development in the two regions
A deep pool of talent and a high level of sophistication in financial and legal services are just two advantages that make Hong Kong an ideal gateway for businesses to expand in Southeast Asia as well as in the Middle East, analysts said at a forum on Thursday.
“Hong Kong has distinctive advantages,” said Winnie Fan, deputy general manager of global corporate banking at Bank of China (Hong Kong). “It is recognised for having a world-class business environment with simple and low taxation, a sound legal system, free flow of capital and efficient financial structure, multiple cross-border channels and also the largest and most important global offshore [yuan] business hub.”
In the Philippines, where the need for infrastructure development is great, Hong Kong’s expertise on impact investing and on environmental, social and governance issues could make a lot of difference, said Andrew Gan, director at the Philippine Stock Exchange.