Hong Kong urged to be ‘super partner’ in businesses’ overseas expansion push

Hong Kong urged to be ‘super partner’ in businesses’ overseas expansion push Chinese General Chamber of Commerce chief Jonathan Choi says city should invest and operate abroad, while urging annual review of first five-year plan Hong Kong should act as a “super partner” helping enterprises expand into Asean, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and European markets, as well as build an annual review into its first five-year plan, one of the city’s oldest and largest chambers of commerce has said. The suggestions are among 65 that the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce put forward to the government on Wednesday, covering Hong Kong’s maiden five-year plan and the city leader’s final policy address of his term. Jonathan Choi Koon-shum, chairman of the chamber, said that in addition to being a “super connector” and “super value-adder”, the city should also take part in investment and operations. “Hong Kong runs over 10,000 enterprises in the Pearl River Delta, while our MTR and airport are very well run. There is also a lot of capital in Hong Kong with a lot of investments. We should look to upgrade ourselves to be a ‘super partner’,” he said. “When we go overseas, we’re not just connecting different parties and providing supporting services. We could also invest together and position ourselves that way.” The government launched a two-month public consultation on June 15 on its first five-year blueprint, which aims to align Hong Kong’s development with the national plan, to be released in the third quarter.