Commissioner for Belt & Road Nicholas Ho this week led a delegation to Indonesia and Malaysia to promote Hong Kong’s professional services in the fields of infrastructure and construction and to explore opportunities for co-operation.

The delegates visited Jakarta, Indonesia on Monday and Tuesday, then proceeded to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday and today. They met government officials, business leaders and representatives of professional organisations and enterprises in both places. The trip concluded today.

Mr Ho and his delegation visited the Daya Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency and the Investment Coordinating Board in Indonesia, as well as the Public Private Partnership Unit of the Prime Minister's Department and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority in Malaysia, to learn about economic and infrastructural developments in the two places.

While in Malaysia, they also met the country’s Minister of Transport Loke Siew Fook to learn about the planning and development of Malaysia’s transportation system, with a view to exploring opportunities for Hong Kong’s professional services to participate and contribute.

In addition, they attended presentations on signature projects in both countries, directly connecting with representatives of local enterprises to explore opportunities for investment and co-operation.

They also attended business lunch events to promote Hong Kong’s business advantages to local business leaders.

During the visits, Hong Kong representatives signed 21 Memoranda of Understanding with partners in Indonesia and Malaysia, covering such areas as business collaboration and professional services exchanges.

While in Jakarta, Mr Ho also visited a data centre, an investment development project led by a Hong Kong company, and heard about the centre’s contribution to the development of the Digital Silk Road.

Mr Ho highlighted that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is Hong Kong’s second-largest trading partner and a key link in the Belt & Road Initiative.

“Indonesia and Malaysia are both undergoing rapid infrastructure development, and there is huge demand for professional services in large-scale projects such as the new capital city of Nusantara in Indonesia and the mass rapid transit system in Malaysia.”

He stressed that Hong Kong, as a super connector and a super value-adder, upholds international standards in fields such as financing, law, construction engineering, project management, logistics, transportation, and technological innovation.

“We also have a deep pool of professionals with experience especially in taking forward public-private partnerships in infrastructure projects, presenting extensive room for collaboration with Indonesia and Malaysia to seize the opportunities brought by the Belt & Road Initiative.”