HK Coalition plans joint investment forums with UAE
Hong Kong Coalition on Monday said it has agreed with officials in the United Arab Emirates to host a joint investment forum on an annual basis starting from next year. The coalition said it will organise the events in Hong Kong with the Chinese Importers' and Exporters' Association, while the Abu Dhabi Investment Office will hold the forums in the UAE. Lawmaker Kennedy Wong, who recently led a coalition delegation to Abu Dhabi, said investors there are keen to explore what Hong Kong can offer, especially in terms of technology.  "They have a desire to understand Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area's development, particular in the technology sector, because they said they need technology in the key energy field. They also would like to improve their financial services, so they're very interested in the fintech development at Hong Kong Cyberport," he said.  "The Abu Dhabi business chambers told us that they do not want a big forum with many people attending but then everybody would leave within a day. They would like sectorial roundtables, so that people from similar sectors from both sides can meet up and discuss investment opportunities."  Another lawmaker who went on the trip, Holden Chow, called on Hong Kong officials to do more to attract tourists and investors from the Middle East. "The fact is that right now, they have only little awareness about Hong Kong... What we suggest the government to do is they could actually deploy more manpower and resources to promote Hong Kong to the people in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. For example right now, we understand that the Tourism Board has no office there," Chow said.  "There might be some sort of public campaigns and carnivals to be held in Dubai and Abu Dhabi just to promote their awareness of Hong Kong. I do believe that when you have more bilateral cooperation on tourism, there will be more investment in Hong Kong."