Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee is planning to lead a one-week delegation to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in a bid to deepen ties with Asean member countries, the South China Morning Post reported.

The group will include top city government officials and local representatives from the financial, technology and professional services industries, the SCMP reported, citing sources familiar with the trip. 

Lee is expected to meet key leaders from the three countries he plans to visit, the newspaper said, citing one of the sources.

Hong Kong has been pushing to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, a China-backed trade pact that includes Asean nations and is the world’s largest free trade agreement by members’ gross domestic product. Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan are also parties.

China has said it has been seeking support from other nations for Hong Kong to join the deal.

Hong Kong exited recession in the first quarter of this year as the reopening of its borders revived spending after years of stringent pandemic controls. Lee has said growth for the second quarter is expected to be much better. Bloomberg

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