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2026 marks the start of the National 15th Five-Year Plan. Hong Kong will proactively integrate into and contribute to national development, aligning with the 15th Five-Year Plan. We will consolidate Hong Kong’s role as a functional platform for the Belt and Road (B&R), actively complement the latest work focuses of the country, as well as assist Hong Kong companies and professional sectors in exploring B&R opportunities.
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As mentioned in the Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address, the HKSAR Government will strive for more opportunities to match projects in B&R markets with Hong Kong professional services sectors. The Belt and Road Office proactively reaches out to agencies in charge of projects in B&R countries and regions to introduce more B&R project matching opportunities for Hong Kong enterprises and professional services through multi-lateral collaboration. This signifies that Hong Kong will strengthen its role as a resource matching platform, transforming its distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world into tangible momentum for high-quality development.
Exploring practical cooperation opportunities
Vietnam is one of Hong Kong’s key markets in exploring business opportunities. In 2024, Vietnam was Hong Kong’s sixth-largest merchandise trading partner. From 2020 to 2024, bilateral merchandise trade between Hong Kong and Vietnam recorded an impressive average annual growth rate of 13.6%. On an accumulated basis, Hong Kong was among the top five sources of foreign direct investment of Vietnam, highlighting immense potential for bilateral cooperation.
Last December, I led a delegation to Vietnam to explore the latest market opportunities. During the visit, we met with government officials and business leaders in Vietnam to tap their views on the latest local development. This enabled Hong Kong enterprises to better understand projects in the Vietnam market, particularly in areas such as infrastructure and green development. I witnessed four memoranda of understanding and business agreements during the mission, covering small and medium-sized enterprises cooperation, sustainable development and shared mobility. These collaborations will support Hong Kong’s business and professional services sectors in establishing a stronger presence in B&R markets.
In addition, business luncheons were organised in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, showcasing Hong Kong’s strengths as a functional platform for B&R. The events attracted close to 100 business leaders from Vietnam and Hong Kong, laying a solid foundation for more substantive project collaborations in the future.
Focusing on signature projects
In proactively "going out" to explore business opportunities, we are also keeping an eye on signature B&R projects with potential, and bringing them to the attention of Hong Kong enterprises and professional services. The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Capital City project in Thailand serves as a prime example. Located within the EEC, a key industrial and innovation hub in Southeast Asia, this new city development spans about 24 square kilometres, aims to attract companies to establish their regional headquarters in the CBD, while serving 350 000 residents in the new city and its surrounding areas. With a planned total investment of approximately US$40 billion, the project’s massive scale combined with the strong demand for high-quality professional services creates vast opportunities for collaboration between Mainland and Hong Kong enterprises in "going global" together.
To facilitate Hong Kong companies' access to the detailed project information and partnership needs, the Belt and Road Office and the Construction Industry Council recently co-organised an industry meeting in a hybrid online and offline format. The meeting featured dialogues between the project owner from Thailand and Hong Kong companies and experts in construction, engineering, finance, railway, innovation & technology, and green development to share the latest project updates and explore further practical cooperation. This effort represents a follow-up to the Signature Belt and Road Projects Session featured at the 10th Belt and Road Summit in September 2025.
By focusing on signature projects like the EEC Capital City, Hong Kong can fully leverage its unique advantages as a "super connector" and "super value-adder". By providing world-class technical and management expertise to B&R projects and helping integrate global resources, Hong Kong contributes to enhancing the overall value and international recognition of these projects.
Strengthening the role as a Belt and Road resource matching platform
Looking ahead, we will adopt a project-driven approach and pursue diverse and extensive collaborative projects through multi-lateral collaboration. We will continue to deepen government-to-government cooperation, introducing more matching opportunities for both signature B&R projects and "small yet smart" programmes, thereby contributing to the high-quality development of B&R.
We aim to transform Hong Kong into an efficient B&R resource matching platform that pools capital, technology, talent, and professional services from around the world. Hong Kong will serve as a project hub for B&R, providing full value-chain services for projects, ranging from concept to implementation, and from financing to operations.
Nicholas Ho, Commissioner for Belt and Road
