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More than 200 representatives from Hong Kong and Taiwan's business and academic sectors attended an economic forum in Taipei today (October 18) to discuss the outlook and prospects for Hong Kong-Taiwan economic co-operation.
The forum was jointly organised by the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office (Taiwan) (HKETCO) and "Business Today", a weekly finance magazine in Taiwan.
Officiated by the Chairman of the Hong Kong-Taiwan Business Co-operation Committee, Mr David Lie, and the Chairman of Taiwan's General Chamber of Commerce, Mr Chang Pen-tsao, the forum was also attended by the Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Ms Julia Leung, who shared her experience of Hong Kong's development of Renminbi (RMB) business.
Speaking at the opening of the forum, the HKETCO Director, Mr John Leung, pointed out that fruitful results have already been achieved by the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council in the area of economic and trade co-operation, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on co-operation on banking supervision by the financial regulatory authorities of Hong Kong and Taiwan in 2011, and an MOU between the export credit insurance organisations of both places in July this year. The insurance supervision agencies of both sides are also discussing specific co-operation with a view to signing an MOU as soon as possible. Moreover, mutual co-operation in trade facilitation, consumer goods safety, the testing and certification industries, logistics and investment promotion agencies are moving forward steadily.
On the deepening of economic co-operation between Hong Kong and Taiwan, Mr Leung said that given the highly complementary economic structures of the two places, Hong Kong and Taiwan could consider signing an ECFA-like (Cross-Strait Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement) economic co-operation agreement to boost bilateral trade and investment.
Mr Lie noted that Hong Kong's business and industry sectors generally hoped that the two places could enhance discussions for establishing a closer economic partnership as soon as possible. Along with the implementation of CEPA (Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement) and an ECFA, he believed that the signing of an economic co-operation agreement between Hong Kong and Taiwan would further benefit Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China by fostering closer economic partnership and creating a business-friendly environment among the three places.
Mr Lie also said that there was huge room for co-operation in the flow of people, goods and capital between Hong Kong and Taiwan.
On the flow of people, Mr Lie said Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao had their own tourism attractions and positioning. The four places could strengthen co-operation in tourism by building up a comprehensive industry chain to provide better tourism services, with a view to expanding the tourism market in Greater China and bringing more economic benefits to the four places.
Regarding co-operation in the flow of goods, Mr Lie pointed out that Hong Kong's logistics industry enjoyed preferential treatment to enter the Mainland market under CEPA. In addition, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which is expected to be completed in 2016, would further strengthen Hong Kong's position as a global logistics hub in the Greater Pearl River Delta region. Hong Kong-Taiwan co-operation in logistics could further facilitate Taiwan enterprises to enter the Mainland market.
Mr Lie added that regarding the flow of capital, Hong Kong is one of the world's freest economies as well as a major international financial centre and offshore RMB market. Noting that the amount of Hong Kong investment in Taiwan so far has been relatively small, he believed the signing of an economic co-operation agreement between Hong Kong and Taipei could bring about closer financial co-operation, thus creating more business opportunities for both sides.
Speaking on financial co-operation between Hong Kong and Taiwan, Ms Leung noted that RMB business in Taiwan had expanded quickly since the launch of the cross-strait currency settlement mechanism at the beginning of this year. Taiwan could thus join hands with Hong Kong, a dominant RMB offshore centre handling 80 per cent of global RMB transactions, to further expand the offshore RMB market and the variety of RMB products, creating a win-win situation for both places.
Hosted by Mr Hsieh Chin-ho, publisher of Business Today, today's forum was also attended by other important speakers, namely the Managing Director of the Bellwether International Group, Ms Christina Liu; President of Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance, Mr Cheng Cheng-mount; renowned Taiwan economist, Mr Ma Kai; and Phoenix Satellite Television business commentator and Hong Kong Polytechnic University's China Business Centre researcher, Mr Zhu Wen-hui.
Ends/Friday, October 18, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:48
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