The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, today (September 25) promoted Hong Kong's premier business environment and fostered further collaboration between Hong Kong and Malaysia to achieve mutual benefits on his visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

     Hong Kong has long been maintaining a close bilateral relationship with Malaysia. Malaysia is Hong Kong's eighth-largest trading partner and the third-largest among the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As announced in the 2025 Policy Address, Hong Kong will set up an economic and trade office (ETO) in Kuala Lumpur by the end of this year to deepen ties and co-operation with the country.

     In the morning, Mr Yau first met with representatives of eBusiness Association Malaysia to exchange views on the rapid development of global e-commerce and explore collaboration to assist Hong Kong businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, in tapping into the vast ASEAN market. Mr Yau also visited Lazada Malaysia, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the country, to learn about its operation and business model. He also had a good exchange with its senior management on the ASEAN e-commerce market landscape and opportunities brought about by cross-boundary e-commerce for Hong Kong enterprises and brands.

     Mr Yau then attended a luncheon with representatives of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia to share with them Hong Kong's latest economic and trade developments, such as the Northern Metropolis development, and new measures announced in the recent Policy Address to attract enterprises and investment. He also encouraged Malaysian enterprises to set up or expand businesses in Hong Kong to explore the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area market.

     Mr Yau also took the opportunity to visit a major Malaysian conglomerate, Berjaya Corporation Berhad, to learn more about its latest developments and the business environment of Malaysia. The group operates across several key industries, including retail, property, hospitality, and services. Mr Yau met with the founder of the group, Mr Vincent Tan, to exchange views on deepening Hong Kong's partnership with the Malaysian business sector, leveraging the city's unique advantages under the "one country, two systems" principle.

     In addition, Mr Yau paid a courtesy call on the Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia, Mr Zheng Xuefang, to brief him on Hong Kong's latest developments and new measures to drive economic growth.

     Mr Yau yesterday (September 24) was briefed by the Director-General of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta, Miss Libera Cheng, on the progress of the establishment of the ETO in Kuala Lumpur. He also had a lunch meeting with Miss Cheng and a representative of the local office of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council to get a deeper understanding of their promotion work in Malaysia and preparedness for taking forward a new initiative announced in the Policy Address to support Mainland enterprises in going global via Hong Kong. Mr Yau also took the opportunity to visit an event sponsored by the Jakarta ETO to promote Hong Kong movies.

     ​Meanwhile, Mr Yau attended the gala dinner of the ASEAN Economic Ministers meeting and related meetings last evening. The ninth ASEAN Economic Ministers - Hong Kong, China Consultation meeting will be held tomorrow (September 26).

Ends/Thursday, September 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 19:28

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