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Hong Kong’s trade office in Kuala Lumpur to open as early as October, Malaysian envoy says

Consul General Muzambli Markam also says Greater Bay Area’s growing integration is an ‘attractive pull factor’ for Malaysian investors

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Consul General Muzambli Markam has said Malaysian businesses considered Hong Kong to be the “key gateway” to entering the mainland Chinese market. Photo: Edmond So
This is the fifth in a series of interviews with consuls general of emerging and belt and road economies with which Hong Kong is keen to build ties. Here are the previous ones.

Hong Kong’s new trade office in Kuala Lumpur is set to open “as early as next month” and the move will allow more direct engagements between both sides, according to the country’s top envoy in the city who spoke exclusively to the Post.

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Consul General Muzambli Markam also said the growing integration within China’s Greater Bay Area would serve as an “attractive pull factor” for Malaysians to invest via Hong Kong, while pushing for more collaboration in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the “silver economy”.

Hong Kong’s network of 14 Economic and Trade Offices outside China came under the spotlight recently, with the future of the three located in the United States under scrutiny after Congress advanced legislation last week aimed at closing them.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said in his keynote speech on Friday at the Hong Kong-Asean Summit organised by the Post, that the new Kuala Lumpur office would open “soon” as part of the city’s efforts to strengthen ties with the Southeast Asian bloc of nations.

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Speaking to the Post, Markam revealed that the trade office in the Malaysian capital could be launched in October at the earliest, becoming the fourth among member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) after Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta.

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