Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Frederick Ma will lead a delegation to the Middle East on Friday to promote business co-operation in financial services and infrastructure, a government press release said.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council organized the six-day visit, which covers Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi and Dubai of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

During the visit, the delegation will meet with government officials, chambers of commerce and institutional investors.

In Dubai, Ma will address 200 senior decision-makers from the Middle East and China at a conference organized to examine the opportunities and challenges emerging from the rapid growth in trade and investment between the Middle East and China.

Ma said Saudi Arabia's and the UAE's impressive economic performance and adoption of an outward-oriented development strategy have created a wealth of opportunities for further co- operation with Hong Kong in the areas of financial services and infrastructure.

"We hope that through this visit, we will be able to strengthen the economic ties between Hong Kong and the two countries," he said.

Source: Xinhua