A rising number of mainland companies are eyeing expansion in the Belt and Road region as the wave of enterprises "going global" entered a new phase, according to a survey.

The Trade Development Council (TDC) surveyed 2,015 firms across the country and found that 94 percent revealed plans to tap into Belt and Road markets, up from 73 percent recorded three years ago.

The TDC noted that 91 percent of the respondents prioritise further expansion in Asean, especially in Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.

The survey also found that 83 percent of the firms saw Hong Kong as their top choice to expand overseas, followed by 78 percent that favoured platforms on the mainland and 31 percent opting for Singapore.

Speaking at a press conference, Wing Chu, deputy director of research at the TDC, noted many companies are adopting comprehensive strategies to diversify their markets, even though they believe trade uncertainties to have a limited impact.

"We still observe that the majority said the effects stemming from the US or other similar political issues on their business are relatively mild because of their different exposure to the related markets," he said.

"As time goes by, we see that there's an improvement in the political environment between China and US. We expect that in the future, along the more accommodating situations, the business or such 'uncertainty effects' on the enterprises may be of lesser significance," he added.

Bruce Pang, director of research at TDC, noted that Hong Kong's role as a "super connector" and "super value-adder" can "perfectly" match the growing demands by those companies, given the city's diverse services in areas such as financing, risk management and ESG-related support.

He added that the city's upcoming 11th edition of Belt and Road Summit – scheduled for next month – will also feature "go global" sessions.

Themed "Advancing High-Quality Development, Embarking on a New Journey", the summit will take place on September 9-10.



Edited by Edmond Fong