Hong Kong’s investments in the Middle East will not be derailed by ongoing conflicts, the commerce minister has said, expressing confidence in the region’s economic prospects and urging businesses to take a long-term view.
“The geopolitical situation has a temporary impact, but in the long term, we remain hopeful about development in the Middle East,” Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah told a radio programme on Saturday.
“We have many strengths in areas such as innovation and technology and green finance, where the Middle East has significant development needs.”
The US and Israeli strikes on Iran since February have disrupted global air transport and driven up oil prices.
But following peace talks between the US and Iran, along with the current ceasefire, the price of Brent crude oil, the benchmark for about three-quarters of global oil, dropped by about 9 per cent to US$90.38 on Friday, returning to levels seen in the early days of the Iran war.
Yau noted that trade between Hong Kong and the Middle East accounted for 1.5 per cent of the city’s total trade volume, adding that the ongoing conflicts had only a limited impact on external trade performance.