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The Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, today (April 23) started his visit to Hanoi by meeting a number of top officials and business leaders. During the visit he hopes to forge closer links between Hong Kong and Vietnam in business and finance.
In the morning, Mr Tsang met with Vietnam's Minister of Finance, Mr Vuong Dinh Hue, prior to the Conference on Global Financial Economic Challenges 2012. The Conference was jointly organised by Vietnam's Ministry of Finance, the Korea Asset Management Corporation and the Asian Development Bank.
Speaking at the Conference, Mr Tsang told the Vietnam business community that Hong Kong is the preferred choice for enterprises seeking to access the vast Mainland markets.
"Hong Kong's strong cross-boundary links, efficient infrastructure and decades of experience of doing business in the Mainland offer Vietnam's firms an effective springboard to reach Mainland markets," he said.
Mr Tsang also called on companies from Vietnam to consider using Hong Kong as their partner in a full range of offshore Renminbi business activities.
He also had a meeting with the Vice President of the Asian Development Bank, Mr Bindu Lohani.
In the afternoon Mr Tsang met with Vietnam's Vice Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr Nguyen Thanh Bien. Both sides said that they looked forward to continued growth in bilateral trade and business.
This was followed by a meeting with the Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Mr Le Minh Hung.
Mr Tsang called on Political Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission of Chinese Embassy to Vietnam, Mr Jiang Zaidong, in the evening.
Before concluding the day, Mr Tsang will attend a dinner with representatives of the business community in Vietnam to gain first-hand knowledge of the local economic situation and business environment.
Mr Tsang will continue his visit to Hanoi tomorrow (April 24) before leaving for his second stop in Kuala Lumpur. Mr Tsang's three-nation visit runs from April 22 to 28, with April 22 to 24 in Hanoi, April 24 to 26 in Kuala Lumpur and April 26 to 28 in Bangkok.
Ends/Monday, April 23, 2012
Issued at HKT 18:18
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