Speech by SCED at opening ceremony of Kuala Lumpur ETO
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur ETO) today (August 11):
YB Loke (Minister of Transport, Malaysia, Mr Loke Siew Fook), H.E. Ouyang Yujing (Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, Mr Ouyang Yujing), YB Liew (Deputy Minister of Finance of Malaysia, Mr Liew Chin Tong), YB Sim (Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Sim Tze Tzin), Frederick (Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Professor Frederick Ma), Ambassador Ikram (Chief of Protocol of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, Ambassador Ikram Bin Mohd Ibrahim), Owin (Director of the Kuala Lumpur ETO, Mr Owin Fung), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon and welcome.
My memory is still fresh when I followed our Chief Executive to visit Malaysia in 2023, and when he announced in 2024 his plan to set up a new Economic and Trade Office (ETO) in Kuala Lumpur. Within a year or so, the Kuala Lumpur ETO commenced operation in December 2025. This could not have been done without the full support and blessing of the Malaysian government.
To celebrate the opening of the ETO's permanent office, we are very honoured today to be joined by distinguished guests whom I addressed just now, as well as YB Sim, YB Liew and representatives from the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the Consul General of Malaysia in Hong Kong, Mr Muzambli. Also, we are very glad to have H.E. Syed Ahsan Raza Shah, the High Commissioner of Pakistan to Malaysia, with us today. Your presence showcased the closer-than-ever ties between Hong Kong and the four economies served by this office.
Being the 15th overseas ETO of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the fourth in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region, Kuala Lumpur ETO shoulders the responsibility of deepening Hong Kong's economic, trade and investment ties with and strengthening our presence in this strategically important region. ASEAN has been our second largest trade-in-goods partner since 2010, while Malaysia is our eighth-largest partner. Together with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Invest Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Kuala Lumpur ETO will spearhead building closer government-to-government and business-to-business links, and will step up the facilitation of two-way trade and investment. We will create more opportunities and win-win collaboration in areas of mutual interest, whether in finance and fintech, innovation and technology, professional services, green economy, logistics, or creative industries, just to name a few.
My appreciation also goes to the dedicated colleagues who worked hard to set up the office, in particular our team in Jakarta ETO who contributed a lot in liaising with the Malaysian government and driving the preparatory work. On this auspicious occasion, I wish the Kuala Lumpur ETO every success. May it serve as a strong bridge of friendship and prosperity between Hong Kong and Malaysia, as well as Brunei Darussalam, Laos and Pakistan for many years to come.
Thank you.
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, Photo source: reference image
Results of monthly survey on business situation of small and medium-sized enterprises for July 2026
The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (August 11) the results of the Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) for July 2026.
The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs decreased from 44.0 in June 2026 in the contractionary zone to 43.8 in July 2026, whereas the one-month's ahead (i.e. August 2026) outlook DI on business receipts was 46.8. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts for a number of surveyed sectors dropped in July 2026 as compared with previous month, particularly for the import and export trades (from 45.4 to 44.5) and retail trade (from 41.7 to 40.8).
The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades decreased from 46.4 in June 2026 to 45.0 in July 2026, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month's time (i.e. August 2026) was 47.1.
Commentary
A Government spokesman said that business sentiment among SMEs remained cautious in July, with the current and outlook diffusion indices on business receipts for SMEs edging down slightly. The overall employment situation also softened marginally. Persistent uncertainty over the developments in the Middle East led businesses to adopt a more guarded assessment of the near-term outlook.
Looking ahead, continued solid growth of the Hong Kong economy should provide some support to business confidence and business activity. Nevertheless, the evolving situation in the Middle East is still a main downside risk, as any further escalation could weigh on external demand, market confidence, operating costs, and investment decisions. The Government will remain vigilant and closely monitor the evolving external environment.
Further information
The Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises aims to provide a quick reference, with minimum time lag, for assessing the short-term business situation faced by SMEs. SMEs covered in this survey refer to companies with fewer than 50 persons engaged. Respondents were asked to exclude seasonal fluctuations in reporting their views. Based on the views collected from the survey, a set of diffusion indices (including current and outlook diffusion indices) is compiled. A reading above 50 indicates that the business condition is generally favourable, whereas that below 50 indicates otherwise. As for statistics on the business prospects of prominent companies in Hong Kong, users may refer to the publication entitled "Report on Quarterly Business Tendency Survey" released by the C&SD.
The results of the survey should be interpreted with care. The survey solicits feedback from a panel sample of about 600 SMEs each month and the survey findings are thus subject to sample size constraint. Views collected from the survey refer only to those of respondents on their own companies rather than those on the respective sectors they are engaged in. Besides, in this type of opinion survey on expected business situation, the views collected in the survey are affected by the events in the community occurring around the time of enumeration, and it is difficult to establish precisely the extent to which respondents' perception of the business situation accords with the underlying trends. For this survey, main bulk of the data were collected around the last week of the reference month.
More detailed statistics are given in the "Report on Monthly Survey on the Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises". Users can browse and download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080015&scode=300).
Users who have enquiries about the survey results may contact Industrial Production Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7246; email: sme-survey@censtatd.gov.hk).
Source: AI-found images
