Gov't, BritCham HK discuss plans for commerce and trade 

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau laid out plans for the sector under the latest Policy Address.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau discussed support measures for commerce and trade under the 2021 policy address with Members of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (BritCham).

Yau told business leaders that the government will continue to seek for more trade opportunities through active participation in affairs of the World Trade Organization and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and pursuing early accession to ASEAN's Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

More economic and trade offices will also be established overseas to improve the city's network, Yau added. 

For small and medium-sized exporters, Yau said the government will launch its pilot scheme on export credit guarantee in early 2022.

In a bid to assist the pandemic-hit convention and exhibition (C&E) industry the government extended its subsidy scheme for sixth month until the end of 2022. 

'HK's biz environment remains favourable'

The commerce secretary assured BritCham member that HK's business environment remains favorable despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yau reported that the number of business operations with parent companies overseas or in the Mainland, and start-ups both reached record-highs in 2021 at 9,049 and 3,755, respectively.

HK's total merchandise value also rebounded since Q4 2020 and reached a record high of $6,509.9 billion for the first eight months of 2021.

Yau is expected to also meet with the city's other foreign chambers of commerce to discuss government initiatives.