ASEAN Forges Stronger Trade Ties with Hong Kong
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The ASEAN Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong) has been launched on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, to bolster trade and investment ties between Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area (GBA), and Southeast Asian countries.
The Greater Bay Area is an economic region consisting of Hong Kong, Macau, and nine cities in Guangdong Province. The chamber of commerce’s launch is part of Hong Kong’s efforts to enhance its economic relations with the ASEAN countries.
Chair of the Hong Kong and Macau Bilateral Committee at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin), Suwito, said the new organization opens new opportunities for Indonesia to strengthen economic relations with Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong serves as a bridge to China. It is also, at present, the second largest source of foreign investment for Indonesia,” Suwito said when met by Tempo during the SCMP GBA-ASEAN Summit 2026 in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
The new chamber of commerce presents opportunities for Indonesia to attract more diverse investments from the Greater Bay Area. Hopefully, he said, the investments will be diversified to other sectors besides EV and batteries; the digital sector, for example.
According to him, tech firms have a different investment pattern compared to the manufacturing industry, as they do not require large-scale factory development. “With digital investments, their offices can be small. They can invest in Indonesia from their headquarters in Shenzhen,” he said.
The launch of the ASEAN-Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce took place during the SCMP GBA-ASEAN Summit 2026, which was attended by more than 300 government officials, business players, and academics from Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and the ASEAN countries. The forum discussed opportunities for cross-regional cooperation in technology, talent development, computation, and investment.
During the launch, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee stated that his government is preparing the first five-year development plan, which will set the direction for the region’s development. He mentioned that one of the focus areas of the plan is to deepen regional cooperation with ASEAN and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. “The blueprint will also deepen Hong Kong’s regional cooperation with ASEAN,” Lee said.
Chair of the HK-ASEAN Foundation and founding patron of the chamber, Daryl Ng, stated that Hong Kong is an important bridge connecting nearly 700 million ASEAN residents with the Greater Bay Area, which had an economic value of over RMB 15 trillion last year.
He mentioned that the value of export trade between ASEAN and the Greater Bay Area through Hong Kong reached HK$680 billion in 2025. Meanwhile, the total trade between ASEAN and Guangdong Province reached RMB 1.5 trillion, reflecting the strong and evolving economic relations between the two regions.
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