Beijing's new Silk Road may be a break for Hong Kong manufacturers
Export strategy based on the idea of a new Silk Road surrounding China is an opportunity for local manufacturers, industry insiders claim
Hong Kong manufacturers in the Pearl River Delta and the city's financial-services sector will find fresh opportunities if they heed the financial secretary's call to embrace Beijing's new export strategy, industry insiders say.
John Tsang Chun-wah used his budget speech on Wednesday to flag the "one belt, one road" policy ahead of its launch in Beijing next month.
The "belt" is the Silk Road economic belt, which will see improved transport links to China's neighbours in central Asia, while the "road" is the 21st century maritime Silk Road, an idea put forward by President Xi Jinping in 2013 to expand trade ties with Southeast Asia.
Tens of thousands of Hong Kong manufacturers could capitalise on the policy by moving operations overseas to avoid rising costs on the mainland, said Pauline Ngan Po-ling, honorary chairwoman of the Young Industrialists Council.
Such a move could also open up new export markets for local companies, Ngan said.
Likewise, Wilson Chan Fung-cheung, senior consultant to the Institute of Bankers, said the new policy was "definitely an opportunity" to develop the financial services industry.
"The benefits would go not only to the financial institutions, but also to other professional services," the veteran banker added.