Consul General Muzambli Markam has said Malaysian businesses considered Hong Kong to be the “key gateway” to entering the mainland Chinese market. - Photo: Edmond So/ SCMP
HONG KONG (SCMP): Hong Kong’s new trade office in Kuala Lumpur is set to open “as early as next month” and the move will allow more direct engagements between both sides, according to the country’s top envoy in the city who spoke exclusively to the Post.
Consul General Muzambli Markam also said the growing integration within China’s Greater Bay Area would serve as an “attractive pull factor” for Malaysians to invest via Hong Kong, while pushing for more collaboration in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the “silver economy”.
Hong Kong’s network of 14 Economic and Trade Offices outside China came under the spotlight recently, with the future of the three located in the United States under scrutiny after Congress advanced legislation last week aimed at closing them.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said in his keynote speech on Friday at the Hong Kong-Asean Summit organised by the Post, that the new Kuala Lumpur office would open “soon” as part of the city’s efforts to strengthen ties with the Southeast Asian bloc of nations.
Speaking to the Post, Markam revealed that the trade office in the Malaysian capital could be launched in October at the earliest, becoming the fourth among member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) after Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta.
“It’s timely. It’s long overdue, I would say. So what we are doing now, we’re just waiting to fine-tune some of the technical issues that I believe should be resolved by the end of this year,” he said. “Optimistically, I hope it can be done by next month.”
Consul General for Malaysia Muzambli Markam. - SCMP
The envoy said once it opens, Hong Kong officials would no longer need to route engagements through their Jakarta office in Indonesia.
“I think there will be more engagement, promotional activities undertaken by both sides, with the presence of the ETO [in Kuala Lumpur],” he said.
Hong Kong applied to join a mega pact Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in 2022, seeking free-trade benefits with member countries. It encompassed all 10 Asean member states plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Markam reiterated Malaysia’s strong support for the city’s membership, saying, “Hong Kong will only benefit, and has shown that it is a critical part of the economy for this region.”
“Having them outside that pact doesn’t make any sense, right? And having Hong Kong inside the pact will only benefit the member countries.”
During Lee’s visit to Kuala Lumpur in July last year, he thanked Malaysia for supporting Hong Kong’s accession to the partnership. He also presided over the signing of 11 memorandums with Malaysia which included a railway and property deal with Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation.
According to Hong Kong government data, trade between the two jurisdictions was worth HK$220 billion (US$28.2 billion) in 2022. They are each other’s ninth-largest trading partners.
Markam noted that over the past five years, trade volume had increased by more than 18 per cent and was poised to continue growing despite a “challenging” global economic environment.
City leader John Lee has said the new Kuala Lumpur office will open “soon” as part of the city’s efforts to strengthen ties with the Southeast Asian bloc of nations. - Photo: Bloomberg
He said Malaysian businesses considered Hong Kong to be the “key gateway” to entering the mainland Chinese market. The growing integration in the Greater Bay Area also served as an “attractive pull factor” for Malaysian investors coming to the region, Markam added.
The bay area is the focus of Beijing’s plan to integrate Hong Kong, Macau and nine Guangdong cities into an economic hub by 2035.
Markam described Hong Kong as possessing “cutting-edge expertise” in AI and encouraged local firms with the relevant skills and technology to consider expanding to Malaysia, which offers a talented workforce, robust infrastructure, and lower operating costs.
Another potential area of more collaborations, he said, was the “silver economy”. Without disclosing names, Markam said that two Malaysian companies had been invited to Hong Kong recently to look at the opportunities in developing care services for the city’s elderly.
“There is a need for proper care facilities for this growing population, so Hong Kong is looking at Malaysia, because we have a few well established corporations which are specialised in this.” - South China Morning Post
