A Hong Kong trade mission to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in June came home with 96 agreements covering $1.65 billion in investment. Three months on, the question at a conference in Astana was what becomes of them.
The South China Morning Post held its first China Conference: Central Asia 2026 in the Kazakh capital on Monday. Government officials and senior people from industry, investment and finance discussed where Hong Kong and the region could work together beyond banking: tourism, professional services, mining, agriculture and digital infrastructure. Business leaders said the next 12 to 24 months would show whether the deals and enthusiasm from the June trip turn into projects and lasting commercial ties.
What the June trip produced
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu led a 70-member delegation of business and professional figures from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. They reached Astana on May 31 and moved on to Tashkent the following Wednesday, wrapping up on Friday, June 5. In Astana they visited Astana Hub, the Astana International Financial Centre and Nazarbayev University. In Tashkent they toured IT Park Uzbekistan and the Center for Islamic Civilization.
China Daily reported that the 96 agreements split into 15 government-level memorandums of understanding and accords, covering commerce, education and development projects, and 81 private-sector deals in trade, investment, finance, energy, technology and aviation. Lee, who met Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, said the two sides agreed to open talks soon on areas including comprehensive double taxation avoidance. He also said he would push to extend visa-free arrangements with both countries. At a business luncheon in Astana on June 2, Lee said 43 MOUs and agreements with Kazakh companies and organizations were already done.
Companies in the delegation
Li Guanhua, a senior vice-president at electric vehicle maker Li Auto, said the company plans to use Hong Kong’s platform to build its brand and service capabilities in the region, and sees a bright future for new-energy development there. Jackson Choi Chit-sze of Hong Kong’s Sunwah Group said his firm wants to team up with mainland entrepreneurs aiming at Central Asian minerals and renewable energy.
Tursunboy Makhkamov, chief financial officer of Uzbekistan’s Ipak Yuli Bank, called Hong Kong well placed to draw overseas finance into Uzbekistan. Nurken Bolatov of the Kazakh startup Artisan Education said the company had been accepted into the ideation program of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, which offers up to HK$100,000 (US$12,760) in seed funding. He called it a strong route into the mainland and Hong Kong markets.
Lee’s government statement also listed direct flights, visa extensions and educational, talent and cultural exchanges among the gains from the trip, along with what it called a hub-to-hub model with Central Asia.
Sources
- How can Hong Kong, Central Asia build momentum on growing ties, go beyond MOUs?
- HK, Central Asia deepen ties
- News Digest: Foreign Media on Middle Corridor Expansion, Cyprus Ties, and Hong Kong’s Central Asia Push – The Astana Times
