UAE, Saudi officials call for Hong Kong businesses to list, expand in Middle East
Hong Kong tycoon Victor Fung also says region can be a ‘launching pad’ for local businesses at forum attended by Middle Eastern leaders
Officials from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia visiting Hong Kong have appealed to local businesses to expand their operations and list in the Middle East to capitalise on emerging opportunities.
Business heavyweight Victor Fung Kwok-king also told a forum on Tuesday that the Middle East held strategic importance, describing it as a “launching pad” for local businesses in the long run.
The event, titled “Hong Kong 3.0 – Prosperity Connected Globally”, was held at a luxury hotel in Central by the one-year-old Hong Kong Ambassadors Club, co-founded by businessmen Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung and Patrick Tsang.
In the past year, the club organised seven business delegations to the Middle East, visiting Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, as well as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Speaking to hundreds of business professionals, Yaser Al Yousuf, director of investor relations and retention at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, appealed to local start-ups as well as small to medium enterprises to explore the UAE market.
“We will always be able to help you and guide you through,” he said. “Not only that, we can help you to restructure your company to be ready for the listing at the exchange market ... We have a team that finds you the right partners.”
The official highlighted funding opportunities via Abu Dhabi’s tech ecosystem Hub 71 and Mubadala Capital, the investment arm of a giant sovereign wealth fund.
