Hong Kong to promote professional services of infrastructure, construction in Indonesia, Malaysia
JAKARTA/KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government will promote its professional services in Indonesia and Malaysia related to infrastructure and construction, and explore opportunities for cooperation.
The HKSAR government's Commissioner for Belt and Road Nicholas Ho led a delegation to visit the two countries between June 23 and June 26 to learn about the latest economic and infrastructure developments and explore opportunities for Hong Kong's professional services to participate and contribute.
During the visit, Hong Kong representatives signed 21 memoranda of understanding with their partners in Indonesia and Malaysia, covering areas of business collaboration and exchanges in professional services.
During the stay in Jakarta, Indonesia, Ho visited a data center, an investment development project of a Hong Kong company, to learn about how the data center contributes to the development of the Digital Silk Road in promoting connectivity.
"The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is Hong Kong's second-largest trading partner and a key link in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Indonesia and Malaysia are both undergoing rapid infrastructure development, and there is huge demand for professional services in large-scale projects such as the new capital city of Nusantara in Indonesia and the mass rapid transit system in Malaysia," said Ho.
Hong Kong, as a "super connector" and a "super value-adder," is connected to international standards in fields such as financing, law, construction engineering, project management, logistics and transportation, and innovative technology, said Ho.
Ho said that Hong Kong also has a deep pool of professionals with experience, especially in taking forward public-private partnerships in infrastructure projects, presenting extensive room for collaboration with Indonesia and Malaysia to seize the opportunities brought by the BRI.
He added that as an international financial and trade center, Hong Kong possesses the advantages of convergence of capital and talent, and is committed to giving full play to its role as a functional platform for the BRI.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Senior military official Miao Hua purged from top ruling body
TOP legislature has voted to remove senior military official Miao Hua from the Central Military Commission, its highest-level military command body, according to a statement published by Xinhua. Miao, 69, was put under investigation for 'serious violations of discipline' in November. The former political ideology chief of the People's Liberation Army was also suspended from his post. The Xinhua statement yesterday did not contain any other details, but the move marks another stage in President Xi Jinping's ongoing anti-corruption purge of China's military, in which over a dozen PLA generals and a handful of defence industry executives have been implicated. Miao's photo had been removed from the senior leadership page of the Chinese defence ministry's website in recent weeks. He was also removed from China's national legislature for 'serious violations of discipline and law,' according to a communique released by the legislature last month. 'The Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission held a military representative conference on March 14 this year and decided to remove Miao Hua from his position as a representative of the 14th National People's Congress,' the statement said. Miao was stationed in the coastal province of Fujian when Xi worked there as a local official. Xi personally elevated Miao to the Central Military Commission. Another Central Military Commission member and China's second-ranking general, He Weidong, has not been seen in public since the March 11 closing ceremony of the annual parliamentary sessions in Beijing. Since then, he has not appeared at a series of high-level Politburo and military public engagements. He is the third-most powerful commander of the People's Liberation Army and is considered a close associate of Xi, who is also the army's commander- in-chief. China's defence ministry said in March that it was 'unaware' of reports he had been detained. His photo remains on the defence ministry's website. Two former Chinese defence ministers have been removed from the Communist Party for corruption. One of them, Li Shangfu, was suspected of corruption in military procurement. Last year, the defence ministry denied reports that Defence Minister Dong Jun was being probed on suspicion of corruption. Dong has continued to appear at public events, attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers' meeting in Qingdao this week. — Reuters


Borneo Post
3 hours ago
- Borneo Post
Central Asian youth flock to Xi'an to pursue entrepreneurial dreams
Matmusaev Doniyor (R) shares entrepreneurial experiences with Shavkat Nurmukhammad from Uzbekistan in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Zhenghao) XI'AN (June 28): When Sahedov Begench, a young entrepreneur from Turkmenistan based in the ancient Chinese city of Xi'an, checked in with his business partner Wang Yi in Almaty, Kazakhstan, over a video call, Wang reassured him that 'everything is going smoothly,' noting that despite not speaking English or Russian, many people in Kazakhstan can communicate in Chinese. Wang and Begench co-founded a cultural exchange company in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Thanks to initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Central Asia Summit, trade and cultural exchanges between China, the five Central Asian countries and Russia have become increasingly active. Since its registration in September 2023, the company has experienced steady growth. 'After the successful China-Central Asia Summit in May 2023, we've noticed a stronger willingness among students from Central Asia to study in China, as coming here means more opportunities and better job prospects. Even more noticeably, an increasing number of middle and high school students from Central Asia are choosing to study in China,' said Yagshy Ayjanov, the company's business director and a young Turkmen entrepreneur. 'In 2024 alone, we provided study abroad services for over 800 individuals, the majority of whom are from the five Central Asian countries.' In recent years, the steady operation of the China-Europe Railway Express (Xi'an) and the development of the Air Silk Road have significantly enhanced and expanded exchanges between Shaanxi Province and Central Asian countries. With the gradual rollout of mutual visa exemption agreements between China and Central Asian countries, personnel exchanges have become increasingly convenient. 'Currently, we have partnerships with over 100 universities across China. Our business now covers the five Central Asian countries, as well as Russia, Belarus, Zambia, the Philippines and other nations,' Begench said. China has become one of the main destinations for students from Central Asia. As the eastern starting point of the Silk Road, Xi'an is home to many universities and abundant educational resources, making it a popular city for Central Asian students to study in China. In recent years, many young people from Central Asia, like Begench, who came to China for their studies, have chosen to stay in Xi'an after graduation and start their own businesses. This file photo taken on May 10, 2023 shows Matmusaev Doniyor visiting the fortification in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua) At the Qinchuangyuan Technology Market in Shaanxi's Xixian New Area, a foreign youth entrepreneurship exchange event was held recently. Musarova Amina, from Kyrgyzstan, told reporters that she registered a consulting company in Xi'an at the end of last year. 'We've already signed our first order. In June this year, a Chinese company looking to expand its business was planning a visit to Kyrgyzstan for research. We provided them with a full range of services, from consulting to translation,' Amina said. 'Since May 2023, we have implemented a pilot program for foreign talent entrepreneurship, and so far, we have introduced 18 foreign entrepreneurship projects, most of which are from the five Central Asian countries,' said Han Ping, deputy director of the technology innovation and new economy bureau of Xixian New Area. 'These entrepreneurs have a strong desire to live and work in China, and they often invite Central Asian businesspeople to Xi'an to seek cooperation opportunities. The exchanges between China and the five Central Asian countries are indeed becoming more frequent,' Han added. Matmusaev Doniyor from Uzbekistan is among these entrepreneurs. After graduating from Northwestern Polytechnical University in 2023, he established a trading company in Xi'an that exports Chinese products to Central Asia and Russia. 'We sell Chinese construction equipment in Uzbekistan, where some brands like SANY are performing very well. In Kazakhstan, we mainly sell auto parts, and Chinese electric vehicles are very popular there. In Russia, we mainly supply electronic products,' he said. Over the past two years, Doniyor's business has expanded across Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong provinces. 'The direct flights between Xi'an and Uzbekistan have significantly shortened logistics time. Some of our electronic products arrive in just three hours via air, and we can clear customs the same day,' Doniyor said. 'For large equipment, we use land transport or the China-Europe Railway Express. The train service is also convenient and affordable.' According to statistics from the Shaanxi provincial department of commerce, trade between Shaanxi and the five Central Asian countries has been increasing annually. In 2024, the trade volume reached 8.575 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars), a 48.1 percent increase compared to the previous year. Riding this momentum, Doniyor has expanded his trade portfolio to include Chinese ice cream. To build trust with his buyers, he accompanied Azizbek from Uzbekistan on a visit to a Chinese ice cream factory in early April. Azizbek enthusiastically remarked, 'Chinese ice cream is really sweet!' 'Sticking to just one industry might limit opportunities, but ice cream is a new project. We started selling it in March, with suppliers customizing the styles and flavors specifically for Uzbekistan. Since April, we've shipped seven truckloads, and the product is very popular,' Doniyor said. Currently, Doniyor's company has surpassed 2 million U.S. dollars in total trade volume with Central Asia and Russia. 'My dream is to do global business. We're planning to expand our trade range and forge cooperation with the Middle East, Europe and the United States because Chinese products not only have a price advantage, but their quality is also improving, and they are being accepted by more and more countries. This presents a great business opportunity,' Doniyor said. -Xinhua China education entrepreneur job opportunities Turkmenistan


The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
S&P 500 hits new record high despite U.S.-Canada trade tensions
NEW YORK, June 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stock index S&P 500 closed at record high on Friday, despite a brief retreat following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement on terminating all trade talks with Canada. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 432.43 points, or 1 percent, to 43,819.27, boosted by huge gains from Nike after a better-than-expected earnings report. The S&P 500 added 32.05 points, or 0.52 percent, to 6,173.07, a record close high for the first time since February. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 105.54 points, or 0.52 percent, to 20,273.46. Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with consumer discretionary and communication services leading the gainers by adding 1.78 percent and 1.55 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and health led the laggards by losing 0.50 percent and 0.17 percent, respectively. Equities initially moved higher in the morning following comments by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who told Bloomberg News late Thursday that a framework agreement between China and the United States on trade had been finalized. However, momentum faded after Trump posted on Truth Social that negotiations with Canada were off, injecting fresh uncertainty into global trade dynamics. "I can see where the risks are here -- if the trade is just hype from the White House and no deals are really forthcoming, then this market is going to roll over," Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group. "Ultimately, this all comes back to growth in the U.S. economy and growth of earnings." On the economic front, U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.1 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, in line with expectations. The annual inflation rate came in at 2.3 percent, matching economists' forecasts. Core PCE price index, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, increased by 0.2 percent for the month and 2.7 percent year over year, slightly above expectations of 0.1 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively. U.S. investor sentiment improved in June as inflation fears pulled back, according to the University of Michigan's latest survey released Friday. The headline sentiment reading rose to 60.7, up 16.3 percent from May and close to the Dow Jones estimate for 60.5. The index was still 11 percent below the same month a year ago. "Consumers continue to be concerned about the potential impact of tariffs, but at this time they do not appear to be connecting developments in the Middle East with the economy," survey director Joanne Hsu said in a statement. In corporate news, Nike led gains across major indexes, with its shares surging 15.19 percent after the company reported quarterly earnings that topped Wall Street estimates. The sportswear giant also unveiled plans to offset potential tariff-related headwinds, which investors viewed positively. Large-cap technology stocks were mixed. Tesla fell 1.34 percent, while Alphabet and Amazon gained more than 2 percent. Broadcom and Microsoft posted modest losses, while Nvidia and Meta Platforms were up more than 1 percent, continuing their recent upward momentum. U.S. stock markets have shown resilience in recent weeks amid volatile geopolitical and economic headlines, as investors assess trade developments and incoming economic data for clues on the Fed's next moves.