{"id":39749,"date":"2026-03-27T22:33:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T14:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=39749"},"modified":"2026-03-27T22:33:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T14:33:37","slug":"more-important-than-ever-for-singapore-and-hong-kong-to-collaborate-amid-competition-pm-wong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=39749","title":{"rendered":"More important than ever for Singapore and Hong Kong to collaborate amid competition: PM Wong"},"content":{"rendered":"


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HONG KONG<\/span> \u2013 There is \u201chealthy competition\u201d between Singapore and Hong Kong, but in an increasingly fragmented world, it is \u201cmore important than ever\u201d that the two cities connect and collaborate, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on March 27. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hubs for our respective regions, and while there is some competition from time to time, I think it is healthy competition,\u201d PM Wong told Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee at a meeting at the Government House in Central. <\/p>\n

\u201cMore importantly, when we connect with one another, the pie grows, and we both benefit because we both believe in free trade, we both believe in rules-based multilateralism,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Underscoring that point, the two leaders discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation including in new and emerging areas, such as research and innovation, and youth and community engagement. <\/p>\n

PM Wong is in Hong Kong after attending China\u2019s annual Boao Forum for Asia<\/span><\/a> in Hainan province. <\/p>\n

It is the first visit to Hong Kong by a sitting Singapore prime minister in 12 years, and his visit, until March 28, reciprocates Mr Lee\u2019s trip to Singapore in July 2023<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a delight to be here, because many things have happened in Hong Kong,\u201d PM Wong told Mr Lee. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are new developments I\u2019d like very much to hear and learn about\u2026 I\u2019d like to see what Hong Kong is doing, and how Singapore can participate in some of these opportunities too,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Mr Lee told PM Wong: \u201cHong Kong and Singapore grow as the heartbeats of Asia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe in building bridges, dialogue and collaboration. We believe in win-win, creating a bigger cake for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

At their meeting, PM Wong expressed confidence in Hong Kong\u2019s continued development and prosperity, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n

The two leaders reaffirmed the breadth and depth of the relationship between the two cities, and exchanged views on ongoing regional and global developments. <\/p>\n

PM Wong later toured the Northern Metropolis<\/span><\/a> \u2013 a planned mega business, tech and housing hub along Hong Kong\u2019s border with Shenzhen city in mainland China \u2013 to better understand the city\u2019s development plans and explore new areas for collaboration. <\/p>\n

The 30,000ha development zone, nearly half the size of Singapore, is a major Hong Kong project to integrate the city more closely with and create a new driver of economic growth in the Greater Bay Area, which comprises Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province. Construction on the project began in 2022 and is slated for completion over the next two decades.<\/p>\n

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Prime Minister Lawrence Wong visiting the Northern Metropolis in Hong Kong on March 27.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: MDDI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

PM Wong also met some 350 Singaporeans residing in Hong Kong at an evening reception. He will return to Singapore on March 28. <\/p>\n

On Facebook, PM Wong said his first visit to Hong Kong as Prime Minister was a good opportunity to refresh and strengthen Singapore\u2019s longstanding ties with the territory. <\/p>\n

\u201cHad a productive discussion with Chief Executive John Lee over lunch. We covered areas like tourism, research and innovation, and civil service exchanges. He shared more about Hong Kong\u2019s economic plans, including the Northern Metropolis project,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe also exchanged views on how our cities can navigate a more complex and uncertain global environment \u2013 and where we can work more closely together. I look forward to building on our complementary strengths and deepening our partnership.\u201d <\/p>\n

Other Hong Kong leaders the Prime Minister met at lunch included Financial Secretary Paul Chan, Development Secretary Bernadette Linn, and Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong. <\/p>\n

He also met business leaders including Sino Group chairman Daryl Ng, a Singaporean, and Hong Kong businessman and lawmaker Kenneth Fok. <\/p>\n

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Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (right) being received by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (second from right) and his delegation of (from left) Undersecretary for Commerce and Economic Development Bernard Chan, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong, Development Secretary Bernadette Linn, Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui and Financial Secretary Paul Chan at the Government House in Hong Kong on March 27.<\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Singapore and Hong Kong have a substantive relationship underpinned by regular high-level exchanges, strong economic relations, and close people-to-people ties. <\/p>\n

The two Asian economies were each other\u2019s fifth-largest trading partner in 2025. <\/p>\n

Hong Kong accounted for 6.3 per cent \u2013 or $87.5 billion \u2013 of Singapore\u2019s total merchandise trade that year, while Singapore made up 4.6 per cent of Hong Kong\u2019s. <\/p>\n

The southern Chinese city was also Singapore\u2019s seventh-largest investment destination ($91.3 billion), and eighth-biggest source of foreign direct investment ($111.4 billion) at the end of 2024. <\/p>\n

There are more than 5,000 Hong Kong companies in Singapore, spanning financial services, maritime, logistics and tourism. Meanwhile, Singapore firms have set up some 60 regional headquarters, 100 regional offices and 430 local offices in Hong Kong. <\/p>\n

More than 470,000 Singapore tourists visited Hong Kong in 2025, while Singapore saw over 330,000 tourists from Hong Kong the same year. The two cities are connected by 88 passenger flights and 64 air cargo services weekly. <\/p>\n

Hong Kong is home to more than 20,000 Singaporeans \u2013 the most in an Asian city abroad \u2013 and also hosts the Singapore International School (Hong Kong), the only school overseas supported by the Ministry of Education. <\/p>\n

PM Wong is accompanied in Hong Kong by Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling, and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and National Development Syed Harun Alhabsyi.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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HONG KONG \u2013 There is \u201chealthy competition\u201d between Singapore and Hong Kong, but in an increasingly fragmented world, it is \u201cmore important than ever\u201d that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}