The Commerce & Economic Development Bureau today held a seminar to raise Hong Kong enterprises' understanding of the latest developments of the Mainland's Economic & Trade Co-operation Zones (ETCZs) in Vietnam, Indonesia and Laos.

The event was jointly organised with the Commercial Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Held in online-offline hybrid format with over 350 sign-ups from enterprises and different sectors, the seminar focused on three ETCZs in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, namely the Long Jiang Industrial Park in Vietnam, the PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park in Indonesia and the Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone in Laos.

Under Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Bernard Chan and officials of the Liaison Office and the Ministry of Commerce spoke at the seminar.

Mr Chan said that in taking forward the Belt & Road Initiative, the Hong Kong SAR Government works towards promoting Hong Kong as a functional platform and facilitates connections between local businesses and professional services sectors with enterprises in the Mainland and around the globe, including the ETCZs.

The purpose is to foster collaboration amongst Mainland, overseas and Hong Kong businesses and professional services sectors to explore new opportunities, he added.

With trade and investment ties between Hong Kong and ASEAN further strengthened after the Free Trade Agreement and the Investment Agreement between Hong Kong and ASEAN which came into effect in early 2021, Mr Chan said the Mainland's ETCZs are ideal entry points for Hong Kong enterprises' investment in overseas markets.

Noting that the Chief Executive had announced in the Policy Address the establishment of the Steering Group on Integration into National Development to promote co‑operation between Hong Kong and the Belt & Road countries in areas such as trade and commerce, he said the bureau will make use of the collaboration platforms to open up markets for the city.