Hong Kong Investors Gain Equal Treatment in New ASEAN Deal
Jakarta. ASEAN recently promised not to discriminate against Hong Kong investors under a new deal, as huge amounts of money from the Chinese special administrative region continued to flow to Indonesia.
Hong Kong and the Southeast Asian grouping inked a protocol amending an earlier investment agreement in Manila on Sunday.
The Hong Kong government is upbeat that this new deal will enable its business “to enjoy treatment no less favorable than that of local or foreign enterprises” in ASEAN economies, according to a press release. The current agreement already guarantees non-discrimination for Hong Kong’s service suppliers in specified sectors. The freshly signed document will bring equal treatment for Hong Kong investors in non-services sectors. Hong Kong’s businesses will also be able to freely transfer their investments and returns.
On the same day, both high-level economic department officials sat together to take stock of investment ties. Hong Kong’s commerce under-secretary Bernard Chan described ASEAN as a “key investment partner”, while looking forward to the new protocol.
“ASEAN has been our third-largest outward investment destination for four consecutive years,” Chan said as he kicked off the closed-door meeting.
In a separate media statement, both sides pledged to have the protocol effective “as soon as possible”.
The investment agreement applies to all ASEAN members, except its newcomer Timor-Leste. Dili had only joined ASEAN in late 2025, and it is still working on implementing the club’s existing agreements.
ASEAN reported that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from Hong Kong totaled $16.5 billion in 2025. The FDI stock from ASEAN to Hong Kong stood at $57.8 billion by the end of 2024.
The first half of 2026 already saw Indonesia register $7.6 billion in Hong Kong FDI, government data showed. About Rp 75.2 trillion ($4.2 billion) had gone to the downstream sectors to help Indonesia move away from being a raw commodity exporter into a higher-value goods manufacturer.
The resource-rich Indonesia had repeatedly stated that its doors would be open to all investors regardless of their nationality.
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