Welcome remarks by HKTDC Acting Executive Director Raymond Yip

• Your Excellency, President Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
   
• Good afternoon everyone. Buenas tardes (pronunciation: Buon-ness Tare-dis)!
   
• On behalf of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, I extend a very warm welcome to you all.
   
• It is our great pleasure to have President Varela Rodriguez as our special guest today, along with a high-level delegation from the Republic of Panama – a country that is increasing in importance as a trading partner for Hong Kong and the broader Asian region.
   
• The delegation has the goal of promoting trade and investment by building a stronger relationship with businesses from Hong Kong, and we at the HKTDC stand ready to lend our expertise and support.
   
• The Ministry of Trade and Industry of Panama highlighted the seriousness of its intent by organising the “Panama Invest and Fest” event yesterday, giving us all a much better understanding of the country’s investment environment and the opportunities available.
   
• I, for one, am excited about the potential of the relationship between Panama and Hong Kong.
   
• Working together, we could create synergy as we share a number of similarities.
   
• Hong Kong is the world's most service-oriented economy, with services sectors accounting for more than 90% of GDP. Panama also has a well-developed service sector, which makes up more than 80% of GDP.
   
• Banking, commerce, tourism and trading are among the key sectors in both places. Hong Kong and Panama also serve as major logistics, maritime and trading hubs.
   
• Panama is the No.1 transhipment container centre in Latin America. Transhipment accounted for about 87% of the country’s sea cargo volume in 2018. In the same year, about the same proportion (that is, around 87%) of Hong Kong’s imports were re-exported.  
   
• Panama has the world’s biggest ship register, and Hong Kong ranks fourth.
   
• On the financial front, Hong Kong is among the world’s top three financial centres. We also serve as the largest offshore renminbi hub. Panama, similarly, is one of the world’s oldest offshore financial centres.
   
• Meanwhile, the ties between the two places are getting a boost from the rapid development of Panama, which has been one of the fastest-growing economies in Latin America over the past decade, achieving double-digit growth in some years.
   
• As the country’s economy has surged, we have seen a corresponding growth in bilateral trade between Panama and Hong Kong. Initiatives such as this delegation, led by His Excellency, can only help to take that relationship to a higher level.
   
• Last year, the volume of trade between Panama and Hong Kong leapt by 29%, to almost 300 million US dollars, while the value of exports from Hong Kong to Panama soared by 33%, reaching 262 million US dollars.
   
• Trade in the opposite direction is also growing as Panama’s economy continues to expand and the country’s ties with Hong Kong and Asia become ever stronger.
   
• That trade momentum will be fuelled further by two significant developments driven by Mainland China.
   
• The first is the Belt and Road Initiative − a grand vision that aims to create common prosperity among nations and economies through improving trade, infrastructure and social exchange.
   
• The Belt and Road is making its presence felt across Asia and into the Middle East, Africa, Europe and beyond, including the Americas. I am sure you are all aware that in 2017 Panama became the first Latin American country to sign a memorandum of understanding with China to promote the Belt and Road Initiative.
   
• Linked in with the Belt and Road is the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which boasts a population of 70 million and a total GDP equivalent to Korea and Australia combined. The blueprint for the Bay Area was published in February with an aim to develop a vibrant word-class city cluster and globally influential innovation and technology hub.  
   
• Hong Kong is playing a pivotal role in these initiatives, serving as a centre for financing, investment, logistics, trading, infrastructure and real estate services, and a whole range of professional services including dispute resolution, risk management and more.
   
• This makes the city an ideal partner for Panamanian enterprises looking to seize opportunities in this region.
   
• At the same time, I know that our businesspeople here in Hong Kong − and those in Mainland China − are keen to know more about the investment opportunities available in Panama and to seek out new partnerships. In that sense, this mission couldn’t be more timely – or more welcome.
   
• For more than 50 years, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council has been working to develop Hong Kong's trade, promoting the city as a two-way global investment and business hub. One of the ways we do this is by organising more than 30 trade fairs every year – some of them among the world’s largest of their kind.
   
• Fairs that may be of particular interest to Panama’s companies include the Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair, the Hong Kong Electronics Fair and the Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair. We would very much like to see a stronger Panamanian presence at these and other fairs, and also at our next Belt and Road Summit, which takes place here in Hong Kong on 11 and 12 September, as well as the Asian Logistics and Maritime Conference which will also be held in Hong Kong from 19-20 November.
   
• From the perspective of the HKTDC, we are delighted to welcome the Panama delegation to Hong Kong, and we will do all we can to promote cross-investment between these two vibrant and dynamic service-led economies.
   
• Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that a new stage in Hong Kong-Panama relations begins with this mission. I wish you all a productive stay in our city and look forward to fruitful collaborations in the years to come.
   
• Thank you.