CE to visit Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia this month

Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday said he will lead a delegation to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia later this month to explore business opportunities. The delegation will include professionals from the trade, legal, commerce, logistics and innovation sectors. Speaking to reporters before the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said Asean is Hong Kong's second largest trade partner and a huge emerging market. "We attach importance to our cooperation with these countries... I will talk to the business sectors and the political circles about what Hong Kong can bring to them, opportunities in various areas," he said. "I will try to get their support for Hong Kong to join RCEP [Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership] so that Hong Kong can be a super connector and super value adder." Separately, Lee announced the start of a public consultation exercise for his next policy address, adding that his team will attend more than 40 sessions. The CE said the sessions will focus on improving the economy and people's livelihoods. "Hong Kong is an open economy. We are affected by external uncertainties, say for example, geopolitical tension, high interest rates, as well as challenges from different fronts. So we need to maximise our possibilities and opportunities," he said.