Hong Kong has taken a monumental step forward in expanding its global economic footprint. Last week, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, leading a high-level business delegation, wrapped up a successful five-day mission to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. This historic visit – marking the first time the chief executive has led a mission to Central Asia –…
As part of its decades-old “multi-vector” foreign policy, based on balancing relations between major powers such as China, Russia, the United States and the European Union, Kazakhstan – Central Asia’s largest country – is now actively diversifying its economic and financial policies. While in the past, Astana sought to strengthen cooperation with the United Arab…
Hong Kong has signed 96 agreements with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan worth US$1.65 billion during city leader John Lee Ka-chiu’s visit to Central Asia, which he hailed as a “successful” mission setting the stage for closer government and business ties with the region. Lee on Thursday also said Hong Kong had initiated an agreement with Uzbekistan…
Direct flights between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan could save business travellers up to 10 hours and open the city’s shorelines to tourists from landlocked Central Asia, lawmakers have said after the flag carrier announced plans to launch an Almaty route next year. Lawmaker Jonathan Stuart Lamport, who represents the business sector, on Thursday said the…
Xenophobia and financial woes in the West have created tremendous opportunities for higher education institutions in Hong Kong and the broader Eurasian region, the head of a leading university in Kazakhstan has said. Professor Waqar Ahmad, the president of Nazarbayev University, also revealed on Wednesday that the institution would soon launch another joint undergraduate programme…
Two Hong Kong media organisations have joined forces with one of Kazakhstan’s largest state-owned conglomerates to strengthen collaboration in journalism and information exchange. The South China Morning Post also signed a partnership with Kazakhstan’s special financial zone to boost ties between Central Asia, Hong Kong and mainland China. The agreements are among 13 memorandums of…
A lack of direct flights has been a bugbear to Hong Kong and Kazakhstan forging closer ties but with the city’s leader now in Astana and hints of incentives on the table, hopes are rising for a breakthrough. It is understood that a Hong Kong-based airline is now exploring launching such flights up to three…
Hong Kong is an excellent option for Central Asian companies considering secondary listings to raise funds for expansion due to its deep liquidity, as the city eyes rapidly growing markets in the region, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting has said. Chan, who will join a high-level delegation led by Chief…
Hong Kong’s push into Central Asia aims to strengthen links between mainland China and the region while reinforcing the city’s role as a professional services hub for belt and road countries, although economic gains may take time, analysts have said. They added that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, given their strategic positions, were logical destinations for Hong…
Hong Kong’s leader will travel to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan next month to explore and seize new business opportunities, making Central Asia his latest area of focus and with the largest delegation accompanying him. After several years of promoting the city in the Middle East and Southeast Asia amid geopolitical uncertainties, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu…