In a speech delivered at the British Chamber of Commerce, Lee pointed to the scale of the existing UK-Hong Kong economic relationship, noting that 770 British companies had a presence in the city last year, up seven percent year on year.
Merchandise trade between the two places reached nearly US$20 billion last year, up 26 percent over 2024, while the UK ranked fourth in inward direct investment into Hong Kong and sixth in outward direct investment from the city at the end of 2024.
“Those numbers reflect the strong ties between us. They also underline the continuing confidence British companies and investors have in Hong Kong,” he said.
Lee said the city’s inaugural blueprint reinforced Hong Kong’s “four centres and one hub” – its status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre, its development into an international innovation and technology centre and its role as a hub for high-calibre talent.
He also identified the Northern Metropolis as a key growth engine under the plan and as a way to deepen Hong Kong’s participation in the Greater Bay Area – a cluster of some 88 million people with a combined GDP comparable to the world’s tenth-largest economy.
The project, adjacent to Shenzhen, will include three university towns spanning more than 1,000 hectares, with 300 hectares dedicated to campuses and the remainder to technology, industry, residential and recreational development.
Lee invited UK companies, investors, universities and research institutions to explore opportunities there in life and health technology, AI, robotics and microelectronics.
He also noted that Hong Kong’s five universities rank among the world’s top 100, and said the time was ripe to expand post-secondary collaboration with the UK.
He pointed to a recent London talent showcase – part of three UK events that together drew more than 4,500 visits – as reflecting British interest in career opportunities in Hong Kong.
Lee stressed the complementary nature of the UK-Hong Kong relationship, citing shared financial standards and different time zones.
“With our similar financial standards, and different time zones – one of us is on the day shift, while the other is on the night shift, covering the whole clock together,” he said.
“Complementarity has long been one of the reasons you have confidence in the flourishing future we’re building together.”
