Southeast Asia’s vast population of tech-savvy young people makes the region ideal for Hong Kong technology enterprises to outsource and expand their operations there, according to legislator and tech entrepreneur.
Chiu — a veteran investor seen as a leading figure in the special administrative region’s tech sector — will join a high-profile delegation to be led by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam later this week. The three countries, along with Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines, form the 10-member Association of the Southeast Asian Nations.
The delegation, which will include senior SAR government officials, business executives and professionals, is expected to promote Hong Kong to enterprises in the three countries and explore business opportunities.
Chiu said Vietnam and Thailand, in particular, have become popular choices for Hong Kong firms seeking information and technology outsource solutions, as these countries have plenty of young people with adequate IT expertise and English language skills.
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The regional grouping, with member states practicing different economic and social development models, is young, with about 61 percent of its population, or about 383 million people aged 35 or younger, an ASEAN report said last year. The bloc also had about 7,000 tertiary education institutions with 12 million students by 2022, according to the European Union-funded SHARE — a program launched in 2022 to support higher education in the ASEAN region.
Four ASEAN members — Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam — ranked among the top 10 countries last year in terms of English proficiency in Asia, according to international education company EF Education.
Chiu said outsourcing work to ASEAN could be a cost-effective option for Hong Kong’s IT sector, which is experiencing an acute workforce shortage, and hiring Southeast Asian workers can help businesses in the SAR tap Southeast Asian markets more effectively.
ASEAN, as a whole, generated $3.6 trillion in gross domestic product in 2022, making the grouping the world’s fifth-largest economy after the United States, China, Japan and Germany.
The grouping’s uneven and diverse development landscape, with the coexistence of rich countries and low-income economies, has prompted many governments in the region to speed up industrial modernization. ASEAN’s fast-growing economy, combined with its large young and educated population, has provided a strong push for the digital economy — a priority for many ASEAN members.
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According to Chiu, some Hong Kong technology companies, such as delivery service provider Lalamove and online travel agency Klook, have expanded into Southeast Asia and built up their operations there. He hopes the Hong Kong delegation’s upcoming visit will help more innovation enterprises, especially startups, to explore opportunities in that region.
The entrepreneur said that the SAR’s overall research and development is higher than the ASEAN market’s average level and believes the city’s self-developed high-tech products and achievements, such as medical instruments and artificial intelligence applications, will have better market prospects in Southeast Asia.
The visit to the three countries could foster closer links among governments, enterprises and universities in the SAR and ASEAN, laying a solid foundation for Hong Kong businesspeople to explore the bloc deeper, Chiu said. He urged the SAR government to offer more scholarships for students from Southeast Asia to enable ASEAN to better understand Hong Kong’s advantages and opportunities.
Lee led a similar delegation to Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia in July 2023, where he signed 33 memorandums of understanding and agreements with the authorities and entities in the three countries.
