Accord with Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong will pave way for setting up a halal-related quality certification, or Q mark.
Reading Time:2 minutes
Published: 9:32pm, 9 May 2025Updated: 7:54am, 10 May 2025
Hong Kong has taken another major step towards ensuring a halal-friendly environment with a new certification developed in partnership with a leading business group and a major organisation representing the faith.
The Hong Kong Federation of Hong Kong Industries and a top Muslim group signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday focusing on halal-sanctioned products and services.
The accord with the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong will pave the way for setting up a halal-related quality certification, or Q mark.
Products and services carrying the Q mark are certified by the fund and meet Halal standards.
“I have faith in helping Hong Kong to develop the Muslim market under the cooperation, as Q mark has been a pillar of consumer confidence,” federation chairman Steve Chuang Tzu-hsiung said.
He noted there were more than 2 billion Muslims, accounting for 25 per cent of the world’s population.
“The collaboration with the [fund] will empower the community to capitalise on the opportunities brought by the Muslim market,” he said.
Saeed Uddin, chairman of the fund, said signing the memorandum of understanding was a historic moment and would allow sustainable development of the halal industry in Hong Kong.
He said the two organisations would collaborate on halal-related initiatives, such as knowledge exchange, policy advocacy and industry promotion.
“It will encourage both local and overseas food manufacturers to obtain the mark and gain the confidence of halal food consumers,” Uddin said.
Making Hong Kong more welcoming to Muslims was among the top priorities that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu listed in his policy address last year. He called for encouraging tourism-related businesses to reach out to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, including through offering better dining options for Muslim visitors.
“We aim not only to enhance the products and service quality, but also to build a bridge connecting Hong Kong’s industries to the dynamic and rapidly growing market of the Islamic world,” Chuang said.
Late last year, Hong Kong rolled out a Muslim-friendly accreditation system for hotels and major tourist attractions.
CresentRating, a Singapore-based research and consultancy firm focused on the Muslim travel market, was commissioned by the Tourism Board to rate some of the city’s hotels and tourist attractions according to how Muslim-friendly they were.
FOLLOW
An award-winning journalist, Denise has spent more than 20 years in the industry and specialises in macro-economic and political-economic news in Hong Kong. As well as being a …