THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) welcomes the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's (HKSAR) interest in participating in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), said Asean Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn, and it is likely that the HKSAR will be able to join the RCEP in the near future, Hong Kong media outlet mingpao.com reported on Monday.

It is the right time for Hong Kong to join, and its participation will bring more vigor to the multilateral organization given the city's advantages in financial technology and green finance, experts said.