Chief Executive John Lee began day two of his visit in Singapore where he is leading a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region delegation on a duty programme to three countries.

As part of his agenda, Mr Lee met leaders of the Singaporean government, visited a local enterprise, attended a business dinner and had exchanges with local business leaders.

In the morning, he attended a breakfast meeting hosted by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of Singapore Lawrence Wong. He then met Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and attended a lunch hosted by the latter.

While meeting with the prime minister, the Chief Executive expressed gratitude to the city-state for supporting Hong Kong's accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

He stated that Hong Kong's bid to join the partnership is an important step in strengthening its relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Mr Lee added that the Hong Kong SAR Government stands ready to engage in exploratory discussions on its accession request.

At a media session in Singapore this evening, the Chief Executive said: “We are here to consolidate our friendship with Singapore and other ASEAN states. We wish to strengthen our long-standing co-operation for mutual growth.

"More importantly, we wish to tell our friends here the good and latest stories of Hong Kong. From our traditional strengths of finance, trade and logistics, to the upcoming industries of I&T (innovation and technology), arts and cultural exchange, Hong Kong is determined to bring in new impetus for sustainable development that will energise the whole region’s growth.

“My delegation and I will take every opportunity to introduce Hong Kong’s new developments, new potentials and new attractions, to our friends in the ASEAN during our visit.”

In the afternoon, the Chief Executive and the delegation visited Meinhardt Group to learn about the major Singaporean enterprise’s business development in engineering consulting services.

Mr Lee said its successful experience of using Hong Kong as a springboard to tap into the Mainland market could inspire other Singaporean and ASEAN enterprises to follow suit.

He also encouraged the enterprise to participate in the major development projects that Hong Kong is currently promoting, including the development of the Northern Metropolis.

In the evening, Mr Lee attended a business dinner where enterprises and institutions of Hong Kong and Singapore signed seven memoranda of understanding on areas including trade, financial services, fintech, I&T, and research collaboration.

Mr Lee will depart for Jakarta, Indonesia, tomorrow morning to continue his visit programme.