MINSK, 16 January (BelTA) – A Belarusian government delegation led by First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vasily Matyushevsky is in China's special administrative region of Hong Kong on a visit on 16-18 January, representatives of the Embassy of Belarus in China told BelTA.
The delegation includes Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to China Kirill Rudy, Tax and Duties Minister Sergei Nalivaiko, First Deputy Economy Minister Alexander Zaborovsky, First Deputy Finance Minister Maxim Yermolovich, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Bank Sergei Kalechits, and Deputy Sports and Tourism Minister Mikhail Portnoi.
Members of the delegation are expected to meet with top officials of the Hong Kong administration, representatives of the business and financial circles. The delegation is expected to visit the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The investment forum Belarus Calling Hong Kong will be arranged. Hong Kong is a major financial and tourism center of Asia. In 2015 Hong Kong's GDP totaled $307 billion. The population is 7.3 million people. Services (primarily finance and tourism) account for about 90% of the GDP. Hong Kong receives a lot of foreign direct investments in Asia ($175 million in 2015, the world's second largest FDI destination after the USA) and is Asia's third largest investor after Japan and China's mainland ($55 billion in 2015).
For the sake of discussing bilateral investment, trade, and economic cooperation, for the sake of advancing interaction in finance and tourism First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vasily Matyushevsky is expected to meet with the head of the Hong Kong administration Liang Zhenying on 16 January. Vasily Matyushevsky is expected to discuss contacts in the sphere of information and communication technologies with the regional president of Huawei Corporation.
There are plans to discuss the operation of a joint investment fund, cooperation in banking, the joint implementation of investment projects, prospects of operation of CITIC Group's daughter enterprise in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone. These matters will be discussed during the meeting of First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vasily Matyushevsky and the chairman of the board of CITIC Construction Company and the director of CITIC Bank.
CITIC Construction was established in 2002. It provides engineering services internationally and is one of the world's top 225 contractors (52nd in 2015). China CITIC Bank is China's seventh largest commercial bank. It was established in 1987 as CITIC Industrial Bank. In 2007 the bank went public via the stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The investment forum Belarus Calling Hong Kong is scheduled to take place in Hong Kong on 17 January. The forum will be focused on advancing cooperation in the sphere of investments, finance and tourism between Belarus and the special administrative region of Hong Kong. Belarusian participants will present reports on matters concerning economic and financial development, the state of the banking system, investment opportunities and the tourism potential of Belarus. Meetings of representatives of banks, investment funds, financial companies, and business circles of Belarus and Hong Kong will be held.
Over 50 organizations in China's mainland and Hong Kong have confirmed their intention to participate in the forum. The number includes the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Development Bank (HK), Export-Import Bank of China (HK), CICC, CITIC Capital, CITIC Bank, CTS, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and other governmental, financial, investment, and tourism organizations. The Belarusian side will be represented by Belagroprombank, the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, and the investment fund Zubr Capital.
Apart from that, during the visit of the Belarusian government delegation representatives of the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus are expected to meet with investors and banks under the aegis of the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China for the sake of probing the interest of regional investors in floating Belarusian debt instruments on the Hong Kong stock market.
The Belarusian government delegation is expected to visit the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world.
Tourism development is an important part of the visit. Negotiations will be held with top executives of China Travel Service (HK) Group Corporation. The corporation was established in 1928 and is the largest tourism corporation in China. It is a state enterprise run by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of China. Tourism is the primary business of China Travel Service (HK) Group Corporation. The corporation comprises eight regional companies, over 150 branches and 500 outlets in major cities of China, including 43 branches and outlets in Hong Kong and Macao as well as 21 overseas branches in 16 countries.
Negotiations will be held between representatives of Belarusian travel agencies and Hong Kong ones.
The visit of the Belarusian government delegation to the special administrative region of Hong Kong has been organized by the Embassy of Belarus in China.
