Hong Kong keen to spur India’s infrastructure development

Underlining its desire to be part of the success of the India growth story, Hong Kong has said it is keen to partner India in infrastructure development. Appreciating the Modi government’s “pro-growth” stance, Hong Kong is poised to play a major role in funding and development of infrastructure projects in India.

“Hong Kong can help finance India’s infrastructure,” C Y Leung, Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, said at a CII function.

Speaking about his meeting with Prime Minister Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Leung vowed to take Hong Kong-India cooperation to even higher levels. Mr Leung is a part of the two-day India Investment Summit, which seeks to attract global investments in sectors like highways, ports, railways, power and renewable energy. He also met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on February 4.

He expressed confidence that the trade between India and Hong Kong will continue to grow and added that he sees wealth of prospects, fresh opportunities. In 2014-15, the bilateral trade between India and Hong Kong stood at $19.17 billion. India has received $1.57 billion as foreign direct investment from Hong Kong between April 2000 and September 2015.

In what could be a shot in the arm for the Indian government, Mr Leung said that the opportunities are increasing because of the “pro-growth” economic strategies devised and pursued by Prime Minister Modi.

Wooing Indian investors, Mr Leung said Hong Kong offers huge opportunities in terms of intellectual property rights protection, open society, good connectivity with mainland China and a level-playing field. He also said global players in sectors including banking, finance, aviation, shipping, logistics and infrastructure have presence in Hong Kong. Speaking about the potential, he said they “will be happy to share the experience and expertise to help you find opportunities in Hong Kong and the region”.

With the focus on increasing cultural relations and people to people ties, Mr Leung said that they have forwarded a draft MoU on cultural cooperation to the Indian government and also looked forward to the signing as soon as possible. He also spoke about the potential in education, technology and innovation as other areas where both the sides can enhance collaborations.

“India is a world leader in IT and I know about their ambitious expansion plans for the sector, through the ‘Make in India’ programme,” Mr Leung said. Bolstering India’s startup sector, Mr Leung said he has recently announced the setting up of an innovation and technology venture fund that aims at investing in local innovation and technology start-ups.

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