Companies in the Greater Bay Area increasingly see Southeast Asia as a destination to sell their products rather than just a place to outsource production, the Trade Development Council said on Tuesday.

Along with the United Overseas Bank, the council surveyed 671 firms in August and September and more than half said Southeast Asian counties have evolved into a big consumption market.

“They all believe that ASEAN will become an increasingly important market for them, instead of being a production base or outsourcing spot in the past,” said Louis Chan, deputy director of the council’s research department.

Chan said Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are the Asean countries with the greatest potential for the respondents.

He said Hong Kong still has a lot to offer as mainland firms expand their presence abroad.

“Actually when we asked whether they are going to use more services from Hong Kong… to expand sales, or in terms of logistics, or financial support and et cetera, only 1 percent of them are expecting to reduce their use of Hong Kong in such regard,” he said.

“Most of them are expecting to at least maintain their usage of Hong Kong in those different lines of services, if not expanding it.”