LCQ19: Supporting industrial, commercial and professional sectors in exploring emerging markets
******************************************************************************************
Question:
There are views that in view of global supply chain restructuring and the current complex geopolitical landscape, Hong Kong's role as a "super connector" and "super value-adder" has become increasingly important. Meanwhile, external networking, on-site visits and business matching activities conducted by the industrial, commercial and professional sectors in the community are equally important for these sectors to explore substantive business opportunities in markets such as those along the Belt and Road (B&R) and among the member states of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. However, some sectors have relayed that the existing support schemes could be improved in terms of funding ratios and administrative procedures, and that there is a lack of in-depth co-ordination and business landing support from official organisations when exploring emerging markets such as those along the B&R, in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and in the Middle East. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have drawn up specific plans for the coming year for the Government, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Invest Hong Kong and relevant official organisations to lead delegations from the industrial, commercial and professional sectors on overseas visits (including destinations, major target industries, expected scale of industry participation and specific anticipated outcome performance indicators); if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) given that initiatives such as the Trade and Industrial Organisation Support Fund and the Professional Services Advancement Support Scheme are already in place to provide funding support for non-profit organisations' external promotion work, whether the Government has assessed the effectiveness of these initiatives in assisting the sectors in entering emerging markets (such as the Middle East, Central Asia or Southeast Asia); of the respective numbers of applications and approved cases involving overseas visits or external promotion under the relevant schemes in the past three years;
(3) whether the Government will further optimise existing support schemes (e.g. by raising the funding ratios and streamlining application procedures for cross-regional collaboration projects) or study the introduction of new dedicated funding schemes to strengthen support for chambers of commerce, professional bodies, and industrial and commercial support organisations to conduct more in-depth and sustained external networking activities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) whether the authorities will study strengthening the Economic and Trade Express, a one-stop support platform provided by overseas Economic and Trade Offices and the HKTDC's overseas offices for non-governmental organisations and enterprises, by also offering consultancy services on legal and regulatory matters, visa facilitation and foreign exchange policies, so as to address the practical obstacles these sectors encounter when establishing their presence in emerging markets; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The global trade landscape and geopolitics are rapidly changing. The rise of emerging markets, such as the Belt and Road (B&R) countries, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Middle East, etc, has brought new business opportunities to enterprises. The Government is dedicated to leveraging Hong Kong's strengths as a "super connector" and "super value-adder", thereby deepening international trade and economic co-operation. At the same time, the Government places great importance on connections and co-operation with the industrial and commercial sectors, and encourages the trade to promote Hong Kong's latest development through different activities such as visits and promotional events, etc, with a view to collaborating with the community to help Hong Kong companies develop emerging markets.
The reply to the four parts of the question is as follows:
(1) and (4) Steered by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global (GoGlobal Task Force) serves as a one-stop platform to proactively attract Mainland enterprises to expand their businesses overseas through Hong Kong, and provides them with customised support services for going global. The GoGlobal Task Force is taking forward a series of work, including organising outbound missions, to be led by officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, to enable Hong Kong and Mainland enterprises to visit overseas markets, including high-potential markets of the B&R countries and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership member states, to allow the enterprises to understand the local market situation.
Among others, the Chief Executive will lead a delegation with over 60 high-level business and trade representatives from the Mainland and Hong Kong to visit Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in early June 2026 to explore new business opportunities in Central Asia for enterprises. In particular, there will be a total of around 30 representatives of Mainland enterprises from more than 10 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, covering sectors including energy, mining, natural resources and chemicals, innovation and technology and pharmaceuticals, high-end manufacturing, automotive industry, as well as investment and trade services, etc. During the visit, the business and trade representatives will conduct activities including exchanges and business visits to explore new co-operation opportunities and take forward collaborative projects. The outbound mission is the first mission led by the Chief Executive since the establishment of the GoGlobal Task Force in October 2025. It is also the largest in scale, with the greatest number of participants and the widest range of enterprises covered, in the current-term Government.
Apart from the GoGlobal related works mentioned above, as a measure announced in the 2025 Policy Address, we have set up the functional platform of Economic and Trade Express to strengthen trio-coordination among overseas Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs), Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), capitalising on their complementary advantages to jointly promote Hong Kong's trade and investment abroad and to explore new markets for enterprises.
The Economic and Trade Express focuses on supporting local small and medium enterprises and start-ups by proactively organising overseas business missions for them with one-stop supporting services (including arrangement of activities like business matching) to assist Hong Kong enterprises in exploring business opportunities overseas. We have been organising outbound business missions since the first quarter of 2026. These missions include participation in the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the United States, in January 2026, along with events under the Economic and Trade Express, with a view to facilitating exchanges and networking between Hong Kong start-ups and local companies. In March 2026, a business mission to Bangkok, Thailand, was organised where participants took part in the "GreenBiz HK" promotional activities organised by the Economic and Trade Express. In addition to supporting local enterprises to expand their business overseas, InvestHK will identify overseas enterprises to connect with Hong Kong's business sectors and enable more enterprises to invest and establish operations in Hong Kong, thereby promoting two-way flows of enterprises and investments. When planning overseas missions, we will take into overall consideration local enterprises' needs and interests, as well as other relevant factors (such as corresponding arrangements in the target markets, appropriate timing for the missions, etc) to ensure the effectiveness of the missions.
The ETOs, InvestHK and the HKTDC will continue to strengthen their collaboration under the functional platform of Economic and Trade Express to promote Hong Kong's trade and investment abroad in a trio-coordinated manner. Leveraging their respective local networks, they will assist Hong Kong enterprises in identifying business opportunities in overseas markets and gaining understanding of the market landscape.
(2) and (3) The Trade and Industrial Organisation Support Fund (TSF) provides financial support to non-profit-distributing organisations, such as trade and industrial organisations, professional bodies and research institutes, etc, to implement projects which aim at enhancing the competitiveness of Hong Kong enterprises in general or in specific sectors, including assisting them in developing emerging markets (including the Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia). A wide range of project activities may be funded under the TSF, including seminars, workshops, conferences, exhibitions, research studies, award schemes, codes of best practices, databases, service centres, support facilities and technology demonstrations, etc. The trade can make use of the TSF to promote Hong Kong brands in other places and organise study missions to assist enterprises in understanding the business opportunities in emerging markets. The maximum amount of funding support for each approved TSF project is 90 per cent of the total approved project expenditure, capped at $5 million.
From 2023 to 2025, the number of TSF applications involving study missions or promotion outside Hong Kong received and approved were 32 (Note 1) and 28 respectively. The total amount of funding approved for the concerned applications was about $57 million (Note 2). According to the surveys conducted by the Secretariat, around 99 per cent of the grantees indicated that the TSF was very helpful in enhancing the competitiveness of Hong Kong enterprises in general or in specific sectors.
On the other hand, the Professional Services Advancement Support Scheme (PASS) aims to support Hong Kong's professional services sectors to carry out worthwhile non-profit-making projects, with a view to increasing exchanges and co-operation with their counterparts in external markets, promoting relevant publicity activities, as well as enhancing the standards and external competitiveness of Hong Kong's professional services. In the past three years, a total of 17 applications for outbound visits or external promotion were received under the Main Programme of the PASS, of which seven were approved after vetting with the total grant of over $3.5 million. Surveys conducted by grantees revealed that satisfactory results were achieved in the completed projects.
To encourage Hong Kong's professional services sectors to step up promotion of Hong Kong's competitive edge and professional services to overseas (including the B&R countries) and the Mainland markets after the pandemic has stabilised, the Government set up the Professionals Participation Subsidy Programme (PSP) under the PASS in 2020 to subsidise the local major professional bodies to participate in relevant activities organised by the Government and the HKTDC. In the past three years, a total of 26 applications for the PSP activities were received and approved. The destinations included different countries in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe, as well as a number of Mainland cities, with the total subsidy committed exceeding $7.5 million.
In response to the views received from the trade, the Government has implemented a series of enhancement measures in recent years, including improving the operation of the PASS, strengthening the support for applicant bodies, enhancing flexibility in the use of subsidies and expediting the processing of applications.
The Government will continue to communicate closely with the trade, review constantly the operation of various schemes that support the industrial and commercial sectors in market expansion, and make adjustments and enhancements as necessary, with a view to increasing the overall effectiveness of the schemes and providing appropriate support to the trade.
Note 1: Applications received may not be processed in the same year. The figure excludes applications that were withdrawn voluntarily by organisations afterwards.
Note 2: As an application usually covers several deliverables, the total amount of funding approved for the concerned applications includes but not limited to expenditures on study missions or promotions outside Hong Kong.
Ends/Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Issued at HKT 12:48
Issued at HKT 12:48
NNNN