BRI to discuss taxes in HK

Hong Kong will host the fifth Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum next year, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu said.

Speaking at the Belt and Road Summit in the city, Hui said the forum will offer a platform for discussion on various aspects of tax collection.

Twenty-one memoranda of understanding were signed during the summit, which ended yesterday.

The BRI tax cooperation scheme was initiated by China in 2019 and has now 36 members, and the fourth tax forum was held last week in Georgia, following earlier ones in China, Kazakhstan and Algeria.

Hui also welcomed companies to issue bonds in Hong Kong.

Also at the summit, Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism chief executive of economic development Hadi Badri predicted that trade between the emirate and Hong Kong and the mainland could double in the next few years amid stronger ties.

The agreements signed included one by Standard Chartered (2888) and the DET to strengthen cooperation in capital markets, family offices, asset management and fintech.

StanChart said it assists up to 130 BRI projects in financing every year to the tune of several millions of US dollars.

Also, Invest Hong Kong and Egypt's General Authority for Investment and Free Zones signed an MoU to boost bilateral investment between the two regions.

The two-day summit was attended by over 90 government and business leaders and 6,000 global professionals from 70 nations and regions.