The second edition of Belt and Road Summit was held on Monday 11 September at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Aedas Chairman and Global Design Principal Keith Griffiths joined ASEAN leaders from the infrastructure sector, including Professor Frederick Ma, Chairman of MTR Corporation Ltd; Meng Fengchao, Chairman of the Board of Directors of China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd; Gang Wen, Vice President of China Communications Construction Company Ltd; Chairul Tanjung, Chairman of CT Corp; and Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ayala Corporation at a session entitled ‘Partnerships with ASEAN: Growth through Infrastructure.’
Amidst anaemic global economic growth, economic performance in ASEAN remains tantalising, with clear potential in its infrastructure sector. Not only will such developments bring immediate economic benefits such as boosting employment and industrial demand, they will also oil the wheels of long-term development in manufacturing, international trade and logistics. Hosted by Bernard Chan, President of the Asia Financial Holdings Ltd, the session featured Keith and other panelists who shared their first-hand experience for investing into infrastructure projects, how they worked together with Hong Kong companies in realising these, as well as insights into the dynamic Asian economies.
‘Aedas has many such examples of taking our Hong Kong experience and relationships out into the Belt and Road countries,’ said Keith. ‘The strong interrelationships between Hong Kong consultants, contractors and developers have spread out across all of Asia as it urbanises.’
On Tuesday 12 September morning, Aedas Global Design Principal Max Connop also participated in the close-door Belt and Road Infrastructure Investment High-level Roundtable and shared our experience in multilateral cooperation and business partnership. ‘Aedas is currently designing many exciting infrastructure projects that contribute positively to strengthening the Belt and Road Initiative,’ shared Max.
Jointly organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Summit attracted more than 2,500 senior government ministers as well as key representatives of international institutions, business and industry leaders from Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland, the ASEAN region and other countries along the Belt and Road.
