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The Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, today (June 25) started his visit programme with a Hong Kong business delegation in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Mr Tsang started the day by calling on the Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia, Mr Pan Guangxue.
This was followed by a meeting between Mr Tsang and the Senior Minister and Minister of Commerce, Dr Cham Prasidh. Both sides agreed that the two places are highly complementary in many aspects. They looked forward to more business opportunities on the import and export, financial and infrastructure fronts.
At a business luncheon co-organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Singapore, Mr Tsang gave a speech to update the Cambodian business community on the latest situation and business advantages in Hong Kong.
Also addressing the luncheon, Dr Cham Prasidh said he welcomed Hong Kong businessmen to invest in Cambodia. He in particular expressed his gratitude to Mr Tsang for assisting least-developed countries like Cambodia to seek drastic reduction in tariffs from developed countries during the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in 2005.
In the afternoon, Mr Tsang and the business delegation first held a meeting with Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr Keat Chhon. The delegation introduced to the Deputy Prime Minister their business operations. The Deputy Prime Minister said he was grateful for the Hong Kong business sector's interest in running businesses in Cambodia. Both sides expressed the wish to strengthen bilateral trade links.
Later, Mr Tsang paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Mr Hun Sen. Mr Tsang expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for Cambodia's full support of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement. They looked forward to strengthening links between Hong Kong and Cambodia. The Prime Minister said the Free Trade Agreement would be important not only to Hong Kong, but also to ASEAN nations.
In the evening, Mr Tsang and the business delegation attended a dinner hosted by Dr Cham Prasidh in honour of their visit.
Having arrived in Phnom Penh in the evening yesterday (June 24), Mr Tsang is visiting Cambodia until June 26. He will then head to Myanmar for the second leg of his visit from June 27 to 29. The visit to Cambodia and Myanmar is part of the Financial Secretary's ongoing efforts to tap new markets, strengthen trade links with emerging markets and further diversify Hong Kong's export network.
Ends/Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Issued at HKT 22:03
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