Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau today updated members of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong on the city’s business outlook and initiatives related to commerce and trade in the 2021 Policy Address.

During the event organised by the chamber, Mr Yau said Hong Kong plays an important role in international trade with its unique and highly internationalised business environment and the city’s global ranking in terms of total merchandise trade value rose to the sixth place last year.

He added that benefitting from the stable supply chains maintained through effective control of the COVID-19 epidemic in the Mainland, Hong Kong's total merchandise trade value has rebounded since the fourth quarter of last year and hit a record high of $6.5099 trillion for the first eight months of this year.

Mr Yau stressed that Hong Kong would, as always, be a staunch supporter of free trade and strive to explore more trade opportunities for businesses through participating actively in the affairs of the World Trade Organization and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation; seeking early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership; and setting up more overseas economic and trade offices.

He also highlighted the support measures for small and medium-sized exporters as well as the convention and exhibition (C&E) industry in the Policy Address.

Such measures include launching the Export Credit Guarantee Scheme on a pilot basis early next year.

Additionally, to help the C&E industry cope with the challenges triggered by the epidemic, the Government has extended the validity period of the Convention & Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme to the end of 2022 and will expand C&E facilities in the long run.