The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta (HKETO Jakarta) hosted a Chinese New Year dinner for over 100 guests at The Empire Brunei yesterday to welcome the Year of the Dragon.
Director-General of HKETO Jakarta Libera Cheng, in her welcoming speech, said, “Bilateral trade in goods between Hong Kong and the Sultanate amounted to USD45 million in 2022, representing an annual average growth of over 15 per cent since 2018. The year-on-year growth in the first three quarters of 2023 even reached about 50 per cent.”
Hong Kong, she added, “will endeavour to seek early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to bolster economic and trade ties with other economies in the region. Hong Kong is well-positioned to serve Brunei’s aspiration for economic diversification.
“In May 2023, Brunei’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Dato Seri Paduka Steven Chong visited Hong Kong to sign a memorandum of cooperation on issues relating to dispute avoidance and resolution.With our positioning as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region, there is room for collaboration between our two common law jurisdictions.”
Among the prominent figures at the event were Chinese Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Xiao Jianguo; Deputy Permanent Secretary (Trade and Industry) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy Mohammad Harris bin Brigadier General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Haji Ibrahim; Regional Director of South East Asia and South Asia of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council Ronald Ho; and representatives from major business chambers in the Sultanate.
The event also featured a performance to promote Hong Kong’s unique East-meets-West culture and strengthen people-to-people ties with Brunei. – Azlan Othman
