Hong Kong will capitalise on its own advantages to help support the development of Qianhai in neighbouring Shenzhen, Chief Secretary Eric Chan said on Thursday.

At a press conference in Beijing, Chan said developing the Qianhai cooperation zone is an important initiative for supporting Hong Kong's social and economic development.

It also fosters a higher level of cooperation among the territory, Macau and Guangdong, he added.

The chief secretary also said the SAR is working on the Northern Metropolis project, which includes a high-end professional services and logistics hub in Hung Shui Kiu that faces Qianhai on the other side of Shenzhen Bay.

"Hong Kong will cooperate with Qianhai in developing the modern services industry to promote high-quality economic cooperation in areas such as finance, logistics and professional services," Chan said.

"Also, more Qianhai enterprises will be encouraged to make good use of Hong Kong to expand their overseas businesses."