The Trade Development Council (TDC) said Hong Kong and Singapore are partners rather than competitors as the SAR eyes more co-operation opportunities with the city-state.

Chief Executive John Lee is leading a delegation to Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia this week in a trip aimed at boosting business and trade ties with Asean member states.

The TDC’s assistant principal economist David Sit said the SAR is a financial and trading hub in Asia, and Singapore plays similar roles in the Asean region.

But he said “healthy competition” benefits both sides.

“I think there is more room for partnership, for co-operating with each other to improve our offerings, improve our services, rather than taking it as a zero-sum game,” he told RTHK.

“We can expect more co-operation in terms of financial services, in fintech. Singapore also dedicates a lot in terms of research and development, while Hong Kong is aspiring to become the R&D centre in this part of the world.”

Sit also said Asean is a fast-growing market that Hong Kong should not ignore.

“Asean is a very diverse economic bloc. There are very developed economies like Singapore, and Malaysia is like a high-income economy. And there are developing economies, developing markets like Indonesia. So they have different sectors, different opportunities,” he said.

Sit added that both Indonesia and Malaysia have a young and large population as well as rich natural resources, providing manufacturing opportunities for Hong Kong businesses.