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Daryl Ng

The Hong Kong government has started the year with initiatives that have far-reaching impacts on the city’s long-term growth.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced that he is spearheading Hong Kong’s inaugural five-year plan, which will promote broader integration with China’s five-year plan and ensure a bigger role for the city in the nation’s economic development. He also reaffirmed deeper engagement with countries in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia to open up new markets for local enterprises.
The city’s leadership has made significant inroads in building trust and partnerships across promising emerging markets, reinforcing Hong Kong’s role as a vital bridge between China and the world.
Taken together, the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) make up the world’s fifth-largest economy and have strong cultural and economic ties with Hong Kong, so the importance of the grouping is obvious.
Since taking office, Lee has undertaken several high-profile trips to the region, visiting seven of the 11 Asean member states. Thirteen minister-level visits have taken place in the same period, attesting to the high level of intergovernmental ties.
The Hong Kong government opened a new Economic and Trade Office in Kuala Lumpur in December, a testament to its quick response to the important role Malaysia plays as a powerhouse in global semiconductors, renewable energy, artificial intelligence and supply chains.
These important official moves are matched by the heightened presence of Asean in the government’s policy directives. For instance, the 2025 policy address set out two specific objectives that were efficiently implemented: the expansion of “e-commerce Easy” – a fund aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in their e-commerce initiatives – to cover Asean, and the provision of self-service for immigration clearance to eligible Asean visitors.


Meanwhile, the government has relaxed visa policies for several Asean countries, extending the validity of multi-entry visas from two to three years for invited professionals from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
The effectiveness of these measures speaks to Hong Kong’s world-class efficiency and the efforts of the government in delivering the benefits of closer Hong Kong-Asean synergy.
Asean was Hong Kong’s second-largest trade partner in 2024: total merchandise trade reached almost HK$1.3 trillion (US$166.3 billion), representing 13.6 per cent of Hong Kong’s global merchandise trade. Driven by the free-trade agreement between the two sides, trade has grown 5.7 per cent annually between 2020 and 2024. Asean was Hong Kong’s second-largest supplier of goods and the second-largest market for the city’s goods in 2024, after the Chinese mainland. The figures tell the story.
The number of Southeast Asian companies in Hong Kong grew by 10 per cent between 2024 and 2025. Asean start-up founders and venture capitalists are increasingly eyeing the city as a base to tap into mainland capital and invest in promising Chinese start-ups, leveraging the city’s common law jurisdiction and free trade policies. The recent launch of a China Asean Economic Linkage Select Index exchange-traded fund highlights the synergy from closer financial integration and partnership between the two economies.
As a premier family office hub, Hong Kong is well placed to serve as a base for private investors and families globally. More can be achieved by the relevant authorities to steer such capital towards local infrastructure projects, fuelling cross-regional public-private partnerships.


Given Asean’s substantial need for green energy, Hong Kong should also leverage its well-established financial and legal infrastructure for promising renewable projects, amplifying the city’s value in combating climate change.
Education is another of Hong Kong’s long-standing strengths. In 2024, the government injected a further HK$1 billion into the pool for belt and road scholarships, bolstering the number of Asean-origin students enrolled at local universities. At last year’s Hong Kong-Asean Summit, Lee highlighted that Hong Kong came first in Asia in the 2025 World Talent Ranking by the International Institute for Management Development.
This is no coincidence – five Hong Kong universities are among the world’s top 100 and the city’s bilingual campus environment, cosmopolitan values and world-class faculties make it highly appealing for bright, talented Asean youth. Last year’s policy address outlined measures to increase the non-local undergraduate ratio at publicly funded universities from 40 to 50 per cent, in alignment with the vision of Hong Kong as a global education hub.




Looking ahead, Hong Kong should work in tandem with other Greater Bay Area cities so these talented people can work seamlessly in the region. This would go hand in hand with China’s broader push to attract talent in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics and new materials. The RTHK series A New Look into Asean has been successful in fostering a more multidimensional understanding of the region among the Greater Bay Area audience.
On the tourism front, the government is taking steps to make the city more accessible for Muslim visitors from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and beyond. The push for halal certification has paid off as last year the city was named the third most Muslim-friendly travel destination among non-Islamic markets globally.
The government’s efforts again highlight that mutual understanding, exchanges and partnerships between Hong Kong and Asean can leave all parties much better off. It is good to see the city’s progress on this important journey, and there is reason to support the initiatives and policies to come.


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Asean

Building Asean ties puts Hong Kong on path to long-term growth

Chief Executive John Lee delivers the keynote address at the Hong Kong-Asean Summit at The Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel in Aberdeen, on September 9, 2025. Photo: May Tse

73% of Hong Kong, Greater Bay Area firms speeding up expansion into Asean: survey

The Asean flag alongside those of its member countries ahead of the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Langkawi, Malaysia, in January 2025. Photo: Reuters

The production line at RJETech, a company that manufactures battery storage products, in Nansha, Guangzhou. Photo: Eugene Lee

As China and Indonesia strengthen ties, Hong Kong has a role to play

Leung Chun-ying, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, speaks at SCMP’s China Conference: Southeast Asia in Jakarta, Indonesia, on February 10. Photo: SCMP

SCMP Events

Hong Kong ranked third most Muslim-friendly non-Islamic travel destination

Hong Kong moved up one place to third in the Mastercard-CrescentRating’s 2025 Global Muslim Travel Index for destinations outside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Photo: Elson Li

Since June last year, more than 60 establishments in Hong Kong have received Muslim-friendly accreditation. Photo: Jelly Tse

East Timor triggers Asean first, accuses Myanmar of war crimes

East Timor’s President Jose Ramos-Horta during an interview with The Associated Press in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 27 last year. Photo: AP

Timor Leste’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao (right) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after signing a joint declaration at the Government Palace during an official visit in Dili, Timor-Leste, on January 28. Photo: EPA-EFE

Why Asean must stay nimble to survive US-China trade squeeze

Mohamed Amersi (centre) and Bernardino Moningka Vega (right) take part in a plenary panel hosted by SCMP Executive Editor Zuraidah Ibrahim at the China Conference: Southeast Asia 2026 on Tuesday. Photo: SCMP

Tengku Zafrul Aziz (right), chairman of Malaysian Investment Development Authority, attends a panel discussion at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference: Southeast Asia 2026 in Jakarta on Tuesday. Photo: SCMP

Containers are unloaded at the Tanjung Priok International Port in Jakarta on February 4. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump (left) shakes hands with Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto at the “Board of Peace” meeting in Davos on January 22. Photo: AFP

Indonesian workers sew bags in a factory in Bandung, West Java. Photo: AP

Opinion

Hong Kong Opinion

News

Hong Kong

Politics

Expanding relations with Southeast Asia can open new markets for the city’s firms, deepen the talent pool and promote greater understanding


Expanding relations with Southeast Asia can open new markets for the city’s firms, deepen the talent pool and promote greater understanding.


China-Asean relations

Greater Bay Area

Malaysia

China

Vietnam

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Building Asean ties puts Hong Kong on path to long-term growth

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Expanding relations with Southeast Asia can open new markets for the city’s firms, deepen the talent pool and promote greater understanding

Expanding relations with Southeast Asia can open new markets for the city’s firms, deepen the talent pool and promote greater understanding