Hong Kong Celebrates Year of the Horse with Filipino Community at Manila Dinner Event

2026-02-28 10:00 Last Updated At：10:08

Singapore ETO holds dinner with Filipino community to celebrate Year of Horse and promote Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Singapore (Singapore ETO) hosted a dinner in Manila, the Philippines, yesterday (February 27) to celebrate the Year of the Horse with the Filipino community and promote Hong Kong. The dinner was co-organised with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and Invest Hong Kong (Invest HK), with support from the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Cathay Pacific Airways.

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Singapore ETO holds dinner with Filipino community to celebrate Year of Horse and promote Hong Kong Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

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Singapore ETO holds dinner with Filipino community to celebrate Year of Horse and promote Hong Kong Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Over 200 guests attended the dinner. Guests of honour included the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines, Mr Jing Quan; the Mayor of Taguig, Ms Maria Laarni Lopez Cayetano; the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, Ms Rhenita B. Rodriguez; the Director-General of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Jakarta, Miss Libera Cheng; and the Regional Director of South East Asia and South Asia of the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council, Mr Leung Kwan-ho. Other guests came from the local government, business, academic, cultural and media sectors.

In her welcome speech, the Director of the Singapore ETO, Ms Elsa Hung, highlighted the close and longstanding ties between Hong Kong and the Philippines across trade and people-to-people exchanges. In 2025, Hong Kong was the Philippines' fourth-largest trading partner, with bilateral merchandise trade reaching US$15.7 billion, while visitor arrivals from the Philippines to Hong Kong marked a record high of 1.35 million, making the Philippines the second largest non-Mainland visitor source market for Hong Kong.

Ms Hung took the opportunity to introduce the key initiatives featured in the 2026-27 Budget delivered by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, on February 25, including proactive alignment with the National 15th Five-Year Plan, accelerating development in the Northern Metropolis, advancing AI industrialisation and adoption, boosting new quality productive forces, enhancing intellectual property trading and emerging sectors like aerospace, attracting high-calibre talent and strategic enterprises, enhancing support for family offices and regional headquarters through potential tax incentives, and continuing to support Chinese Mainland enterprises in going global.

Ms Hung concluded that Hong Kong will continue to leverage its unique advantages under the "one country, two systems" framework to serve as a "super connector" and "super value-adder" linking the Chinese Mainland with the rest of the world. She added that Hong Kong would further expand its engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including the Philippines, by strengthening economic co-operation and promoting initiatives such as the "Go Global" strategy and the one-stop Economic and Trade Express (ETE) platform, supported by Hong Kong’s global network of ETOs, Invest HK and the HKTDC.

Additionally, riding on her visit to Manila, Ms Hung paid courtesy calls on Ambassador Mr Jing Quan, various officials of the Philippines' Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Foreign Affairs respectively. She also attended and spoke at a Chinese New Year celebration event organised by the Hongkong Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc on February 26, to introduce Hong Kong's latest developments, promote the ETE platform and exchange views on the business opportunities in the Philippines and wider region.

Following the dinners held in Singapore on February 25 and in Manila yesterday, Singapore ETO will host another Chinese New Year dinner in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on March 14 to continue strengthening ties and exchanges with the local community.

Hong Kong Customs Seizes 12 kg of Ketamine from Incoming Passenger at Airport

Hong Kong Customs detects drug trafficking case involving incoming passenger at airport

Hong Kong Customs detected a drug trafficking case involving an incoming air passenger at Hong Kong International Airport today (February 27) and seized about 12 kilograms of suspected ketamine with an estimated market value of about $4.8 million.

A 65-year-old female passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Amsterdam, Netherlands, today. During customs clearance, Customs officers found the batch of suspected ketamine from her check-in suitcase. The woman was subsequently arrested.

An investigation is ongoing.

Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not to participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people.

Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Hong Kong Celebrates Year of the Horse with Filipino Community at Manila Dinner Event

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