Xia Baolong holds closed-door talks with Hong Kong business leaders during visit

Three-hour session included Henderson Land’s Peter Lee, New World’s Sonia Cheng and HKEX’s Carlson Tong

Beijing’s top official overseeing Hong Kong affairs held a three-hour closed-door face-to-face discussion with local tycoons and business leaders on the third day of his inspection trip to the city on Friday.

Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, visited Ocean Park in the afternoon before checking out Lamma Island.

The exchanges on Friday morning, held at the government headquarters in Admiralty, marked the first time since last November that Xia had direct talks with local business elites in Shenzhen.

Tycoons at the meeting included Peter Lee Ka-kit, chairman and managing director of Henderson Land Development; Gordon Wu Ying-sheung, chairman of Hopewell Holdings; Stephen Ng Tin-hoi, chairman and managing director of the Wharf Holdings; and Sonia Cheng Chi-man, executive director of New World Development.