Hong Kong’s role as a superconnector in global trade and innovation took center stage on Thursday, as prominent business leaders at Hong Kong’s Belt and Road Summit highlighted the city’s contribution to building long-term partnerships and driving sustainable growth across new markets and industries.
“In a world confronted with economic and sustainability challenges, the real heroes are the companies making the investments — and Hong Kong has been doing its part well,” Chan Ka-keung, chairman of WeLab Bank, told the panel session “Exploring Frontiers in New Markets and Industries”.
Given that now is a time of uncertainty, chaos, complexity and ambiguity, Wang Chaoyou, president of Dongchao Technology Group, highlighted the need for businesses to reduce communication costs while improving the precision of customer acquisition.
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Wang recalled a recent trip to the Middle East led by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu during which he met a local partner who approached with striking enthusiasm and a genuine desire to collaborate. “Such delegations carry the weight of official endorsement. By enabling direct engagement with local authorities and bringing together carefully chosen companies from both sides, they not only open doors but also lay a stronger foundation of mutual trust,” Wang noted. “This is where Hong Kong’s role as a superconnector and super value-adder comes into action.”
Timur Turlov, founder and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp, a Nasdaq-listed company headquartered in Central Asia, likewise said he sees Hong Kong as a platform for global expansion. As more Central Asian businesses venture onto the world stage, he underscored the city’s unique advantages in accessing markets, raising capital and shaping expansion strategy.
“Connectivity is the key to enable exchange,” said Ronald Lam Siu-por, chief executive officer of Cathay Group. The city’s flagship carrier currently serves more than 100 destinations worldwide, including nearly 30 participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Lam himself has witnessed the BRI’s expansion. Back in early 2023 as Hong Kong emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, he joined a delegation to the Middle East. At that time, no direct flight connected Hong Kong to Saudi Arabia. The airline subsequently launched its Hong Kong–Riyadh service with three flights a week last year.
What started partly as a response to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s requests soon revealed far greater demand than expected. According to Lam, Cathay has raised frequency to four flights a week this year and from next month will operate daily.
At the heart of broader collaboration lies the long-term mindset and a better understanding of the pressing needs for local markets. One major requirement in the Middle East comes from carbon emission reduction, with potentially huge opportunities up for grabs for autonomous vehicles, according to Wu Gansha, co-founder, chairman and CEO of UISEE Technologies (Beijing) Co, Ltd.
“Yet, this is not about setting an industry benchmark,” Wu noted. “It is about crafting a local innovative solution reputable to other Middle Eastern countries.”
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Ibrahim Al-Eisri, chief investment officer of private markets at the Oman Investment Authority, echoed this view. Last year, trade between China and Oman topped $30 billion, while trade between China and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries overall reached $300 billion. “The figures alone tell how much trade and cross-border relationships are happening,” he said.
Al-Eisri highlighted the region’s growing appetite for Chinese technologies. “We want to bring these technologies into Oman, apply them and set examples with them in the country, and then expand across the world,” he noted.
As high-tech products and services from the world’s largest economy are reaching every corner of the globe, Elton Chan, director of Jardine Matheson Ltd, said he sees Hong Kong businesses as part of a bigger story unfolding, with “an important role to play in ensuring the continuous flow of capital, products and talent.”
Contact the writer at sophialuo@chinadailyhk.com
