LCQ17: Developing Hong Kong into Belt and Road resource allocation centre
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Question:
There are views pointing out that given the pressing demand from Mainland enterprises to go global, Hong Kong, in its roles as the country's "super connector" and "super value-adder", should further enhance its strategic positioning. In addition to assisting enterprises in going global, it should also attract resources, thereby becoming a super partner and upgrading from a mere platform for enterprises to go global to a Belt and Road resource allocation centre. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in light of the demand from Mainland enterprises to go global, of the specific short, medium and long-term policies and development blueprints put in place by the authorities to promote Hong Kong's upgrade from a launchpad to go global to a Belt and Road resource allocation centre, thereby establishing a one-stop hub for resources and tools for enterprises;
(2) as there are views that Hong Kong lacks sufficient grasp of the local conditions, legal regulations and political risks in emerging markets along the Belt and Road (such as Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa), of the specific talent nurturing strategies put in place by the Government to assist local and Mainland enterprises in overcoming difficulties in adapting to the local conditions and going global safely; and
(3) it has been reported that there are currently between 50 million and 60 million enterprises on the Mainland, and if only 0.1 per cent of them have the strength and intention to go global, this would already involve about 60 000 enterprises, a scale equivalent to six times the current number of Hong Kong offices of non-Hong Kong enterprises; given the need to serve this potentially vast cohort of enterprises seeking to go global, whether the Government will allocate more resources to address this in terms of the allocation of public financial resources, the transformation of the functions of overseas economic and trade offices, and the establishment of substantive supporting facilities for the aforementioned one-stop hub?
Reply:
President,
To better support Chinese Mainland enterprises in going global through Hong Kong to overseas markets, including Belt and Road (B&R) countries, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) established the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global (GoGlobal Task Force), steered by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (SCED), last October. The GoGlobal Task Force mobilises Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Hong Kong's offices in the Chinese Mainland, serving as a one-stop platform providing customised support services to Chinese Mainland enterprises. At the same time, the GoGlobal Task Force leverages the network of the 15 overseas Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, connecting Chinese Mainland enterprises with overseas markets to seek overseas partners and explore business opportunities.
The reply to the question raised by the Hon Rock Chen is provided below:
(1) and (2) Since its establishment, the GoGlobal Task Force has held four meetings of the Steering Committee and assisted Chinese Mainland enterprises to go global via Hong Kong in an orderly manner through a three-step approach of "bringing in", getting ready and going global.
To strengthen and more systematically co-ordinate Hong Kong's professional services support for enterprises going global, the GoGlobal Task Force launched the cross-sectoral professional services platform (the Platform), GoGlobal Connect, in April this year, bringing together eight groups of Hong Kong professional service providers (Note) to provide professional consultation services to Chinese Mainland enterprises seeking to go global. Among them are many service providers familiar with the market standards and investment needs of B&R countries. They can effectively provide enterprises with analyses and recommendations on developing businesses in these markets, such as on local regulations and technical standards, thereby assisting enterprises in establishing operations overseas. At present, the Platform comprises more than 220 Hong Kong professional service providers and has processed around 300 enquiries related to overseas expansion through both online and offline channels. The GoGlobal Task Force will continue to enhance the functions of the Platform.
In addition, the GoGlobal Task Force organises outbound missions led by Principal Officials of the HKSAR Government for enterprises to understand target markets, including B&R countries, in person and explore potential collaboration opportunities on the ground. Given that Central Asia is a key hub of the B&R and a critical platform connecting Asia and Europe, and in view of its substantial development potential, the Chief Executive personally led a business delegation comprising over 30 representatives from Chinese Mainland enterprises to visit Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in June this year. A total of 96 co-operation agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) were reached during the visit, involving specific amounts exceeding US$1.65 billion in total. Some of the Chinese Mainland enterprises in the delegation have successfully launched various co-operative projects with Central Asia and are progressively expanding their operations in the region.
Apart from Central Asia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is another important market along the B&R. In August 2026, the SCED led over 10 Chinese Mainland enterprises to visit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to connect them with the vast market of the ASEAN, achieving positive outcomes. For example, members of the delegation exchanged two MOUs with local enterprises and chambers of commerce respectively, while InvestHK signed an MOU with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority to step up two-way investment co-operation between the two places, thereby further assisting Chinese Mainland enterprises to expand their local businesses. Riding on the successful experience and positive outcomes of this year's missions, the GoGlobal Task Force will continue to organise outbound missions to high-potential economies, including B&R countries, in 2027.
Going forward, the GoGlobal Task Force will further strengthen the related work according to the 2026 Policy Address, including the following:
(i) deepen collaboration with trade associations and chambers of commerce in both Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland (including local branches of the Federation of Industry and Commerce and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade) to organise industry-focused briefings and seminars in various provinces and municipalities to help Chinese Mainland enterprises gain a deeper understanding of Hong Kong's high value-added services and advantages as a GoGlobal platform, as well as the preparations required for overseas expansion. This will enable enterprises to begin preparation for their internationalisation at an earlier stage in the Chinese Mainland and then expand overseas through Hong Kong;
(ii) leverage the networks of Hong Kong's chambers of commerce, industry associations and professional organisations to reach out to more Chinese Mainland enterprises interested in expanding into overseas markets, as well as relevant Hong Kong professional service providers, to gain a more in-depth understanding of the market demand for professional services, facilitate enterprises' preparations for international expansion and train more talent for GoGlobal-related professional services;
(iii) further enhance the Platform by adding a new sector to provide environmental, social and governance services, with a view to leveraging Hong Kong's international expertise to assist Chinese Mainland enterprises in meeting the requirements of their target markets (including B&R countries); and
(iv) enhance the Platform's matching function to connect Chinese Mainland enterprises and Hong Kong professional service providers, and keep track of the effectiveness of individual cases. We will also enhance the Platform's search and matching functions to showcase service providers of different scales, thereby better fulfilling the needs of enterprises going global. We will continue to invite more professional service providers of different sizes and specialties to join the Platform to provide more diverse and targeted professional support services to Chinese Mainland enterprises.
Apart from the GoGlobal Task Force, the Belt and Road Office under the CEDB is also taking forward various initiatives through a multi-pronged approach to assist Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland enterprises in exploring opportunities in B&R markets. Hong Kong has been organising the flagship event - the Belt and Road Summit (Summit) annually since 2016, bringing together political and business leaders from Hong Kong, Chinese Mainland and B&R countries for co-operation and exchanges, yielding fruitful results. Taking this year's 11th Summit as an example, it attracted over 6 200 participants and reached more than 60 MOUs. The total value of these MOUs, together with new projects and deals finalised before and during the Summit, is over US$3.1 billion.
The Belt and Road Office also reaches out to B&R countries to progressively build a database of infrastructure projects, namely the "Hong Kong-Overseas Projects Platform", to gather and disseminate project information to Hong Kong enterprises, assisting them to seize opportunities to participate in B&R projects. The Belt and Road Office also encourages and suitably assists overseas entities in organising roadshows or project matching activities in Hong Kong, "bringing in" the relevant projects. So far, the aforesaid platform has disseminated the information of about 20 projects to registered Hong Kong enterprises, and organised, assisted or facilitated over 10 roadshows or project matching activities.
Also, the HKTDC has established the Belt and Road Portal, which sets out successful cases related to the B&R. This platform currently carries listings of over 680 projects and 370 Hong Kong-based professional service providers providing corresponding services. The HKTDC also publishes research reports for enterprises' reference from time to time, covering information on the business environment, local policies and regulations, industry opportunities, economic data, and relevant practical resource links of overseas markets, including B&R markets, thereby assisting them in planning their overseas business expansion.
(3) There is an enormous number of Chinese Mainland enterprises planning to go global, and many of them intend to leverage Hong Kong to expand into overseas markets. The GoGlobal Task Force will maintain communication with relevant Chinese Mainland authorities, including the Ministry of Commerce, to strategically provide Chinese Mainland enterprises with tailored match-making and support services based on their needs. The GoGlobal Task Force will focus on supporting key Chinese Mainland enterprises with clear strategic value through the cross-sectoral professional services platform, GoGlobal Connect, and the one-stop customised overseas expansion support services provided by InvestHK and the HKTDC. We will also invite them to attend the GoGlobal Task Force's promotional events, and participate in outbound missions led by Principal Officials of the HKSAR Government. The GoGlobal Task Force will continue to track their overseas expansion progress so as to provide further support at appropriate junctures.
As for other Chinese Mainland enterprises, depending on their specific service needs and overseas expansion plans, the GoGlobal Task Force will continue to provide support through the cross-sectoral professional services platform and the professional expertise of various GoGlobal Task Force members. In addition, the GoGlobal Task Force will support measures or promotional activities initiated by the business sector and other non-government organisations, so as to bring together the strengths of different sectors in developing Hong Kong into an ideal GoGlobal platform.
In view of the enormous number of enterprises seeking to go global, additional resources and manpower have been allocated to InvestHK to cope with the relevant workload, thereby better supporting the work of the GoGlobal Task Force.
Note: Including financial services; legal services; accounting, tax and business advisory services; design, marketing and brand management services; logistics and transportation services; telecommunications and information technology services; infrastructure and real estate-related services; as well as testing and certification services.
Ends/Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Issued at HKT 15:45
Issued at HKT 15:45
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