Hong Kong can contribute to digital infrastructure financing for Apec and its Business Advisory Council, according to the SAR’s alternate representative to the council.

Digital infrastructure financing was among the topics discussed during the first day of the Apec Finance Ministers’ Meeting being held in Hong Kong.

Duncan Chiu, who is also a lawmaker, told an RTHK radio show on Wednesday that the city’s financing system aligns with international standards, and the SAR’s experience can also play a role in helping Apec and its Business Advisory Council members.

He noted that network communications and computing power in AI are some of the examples of digital infrastructure.

“Hong Kong does a lot of financing and fundraising for many places and projects. Sometimes we are not only helping local enterprises or projects," he said.

"For projects in Asia, you can also do financing, fundraising and insurance – our professional services – in Hong Kong. We provide all these to other economies.”

With the SAR offering all these services under one roof, Chiu said it can help reduce trade costs for Apec economies while enhancing transparency and efficiency.

He added that Apec members have discussed the possibility of having leading economies assist the less developed ones.

Chiu pointed out that about 11 percent of the people in Asia and one-third of the global population do not have internet access, and some places do not even have data centres, which would widen the gap between the economies.



Edited by Edmond Fong