Hunt for investment in Middle East: Hong Kong finance chief to lead delegation to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as part of policy push
- Choice of region deliberate given US-China geopolitical rivalry and sanctions on officials
- Paul Chan’s visit sparks speculation on whether Hong Kong government will be involved in Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund
Hong Kong’s financial secretary is embarking on a series of high-profile visits to the Middle East on a mission to seek investment opportunities in new regions and carve a path to recovery for an economy battered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Paul Chan Mo-po will lead a delegation to Bahrain on Saturday, after which they will head to Saudi Arabia to attend an international conference, the Future Investment Initiative, to be held from Tuesday to Thursday and run by a think tank under the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the country’s main sovereign wealth fund, according to a press statement released on Friday.
The PIF is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of US$620 billion (HK$4.9 trillion).
Chan’s visits, which sources said had been in the works for some weeks, are tied to two critical missions assigned to him by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his first policy address on Wednesday to steer the city’s economic development by hunting for enterprises, investment and talent amid a slowdown.
The choice of the Middle East was deliberate given that Hong Kong had been caught up in the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China, with several of its officials sanctioned, including Lee.
Chan will take charge of the HK$30 billion Co-Investment Fund to entice enterprises to set up shop in Hong Kong by investing in their business, and lead a new Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises to lure firms with special incentives such as land, tax and financing and a one-stop shop to help them set up their business.
The finance minister said he envisaged his visit would help Hong Kong extend its economic and trade ties with the Middle East and rebuild the image and branding of Hong Kong.
