Hajiji meets top HK leader to boost bilateral trade ties with Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Hong Kong is keen to enhance trade relations with Sabah, particularly in the tourism and food industries.

This was conveyed by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor as the latter wrapped up his maiden trade mission abroad on Thursday (Nov 9).

Lee said Sabah is a popular destination for the Hong Kong people and his government is looking to establish more tourism routes benefiting both sides.

Acknowledging Sabah’s role as an important exporter of seafood to Hong Kong, he said there is potential for other food products as well.

Hajiji had earlier told Lee that he was in the city of Shenzhen in neighbouring Guangdong province, China, to present a keynote address at the Global Chinese Economy and Technology (GCET) Summit on Monday (Nov 6).

He said the Sabah government and Huawei Technologies had also signed a memorandum of understanding at the Huawei headquarters in Shenzhen.

The Chief Minister said to enhance bilateral relations, the state government would want to engage with the secretaries of the related departments in Hong Kong.

“I want to see Sabah become a gateway to South-East Asia and BIMP-EAGA (Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area) in particular,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Nov 9).

Hajiji also briefed Lee on Sabah’s key investment areas, namely energy; low energy intensity industry; green technology-based products; biomass downstream products; food processing; medical devices; oil and gas; tourism and new industry.

In response, Lee said he was receptive to direct communications between Hong Kong and Sabah to open doors for more trade and areas of mutual cooperation.

“We look forward to inter-governmental exchanges to strengthen relations,” he said.

He added that other areas that Sabah could consider are the Blue and Green Bonds as Hong Kong is top under its Hong Kong Investment Corporation Ltd to fund development projects.

Lee also welcomed Sabah to hold trade fairs in Hong Kong to showcase Sabah products and business interests.

Accompanying Hajiji were state Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe, State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong and Sabah Economic Advisory Council chairman Tan Sri David Chu.

Also present were Sabah-born Tan Sri Andrew Sheng, a member of the Advisory Council to the Chief Executive, Hong Kong Government and Hong Kong undersecretary for commerce and economic development Bernard Chan.