1 The Ninth ASEAN Economic Ministers-Hong Kong, China (AEM-HKC) Consultation was held on 26 September 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Consultation was co-chaired by H.E. Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia and H.E. Algernon Yau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of HKC. The Meeting also welcomed the participation of H.E. Filipus Nino Pereira, Minister of Commerce, and Industry, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as an observer

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2. The Meeting noted that based on ASEAN’s preliminary statistics, two-way merchandise trade between ASEAN and HKC stood at USD 132.5 billion in 2024, whilst foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow from HKC to ASEAN was recorded at USD 14.3 billion in the same year. These figures placed HKC as ASEAN’s seventh largest trading partner and sixth largest source of FDI last year. At the same time, ASEAN as a bloc was HKC’s second-largest merchandise trading partner in 2024. The FDI stock from ASEAN to HKC amounted to USD 58 billion at the end of 2023, placing ASEAN as the sixth largest source of FDI for HKC.

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