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The Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang has thanked new foreign, Mainland and Taiwan investors for their substantial contribution to the Hong Kong economy.
Mr Tsang today (July 11) hosted a reception attended by over 200 guests representing some 150 overseas, Mainland and Taiwan companies that had set up operations or increased their overall investment in Hong Kong from September, 2005, to June, 2006. Consuls-General, heads of international chambers of commerce in Hong Kong and Hong Kongˇ¦s Investment Promotion Ambassadors also joined the event.
Mr Tsang said that despite the challenges the community was facing, Hong Kong remained an attractive location for companies from all over the world to come to do business.
Addressing one of the challenges - air pollution, the Chief Executive said: "We are aware of the problem and are taking active steps to deal with it."
Noting that the greater share of Hong Kong's air pollution came from South China, Mr Tsang appealed to Hong Kong business people as well as Hong Kong-based international business people, to do their part by ensuring that their manufacturing operations in the Pearl River Delta were as environmentally friendly as possible.
Mr Tsang also spoke about the second challenge - the danger of so-called "marginalisation" - but noted that "everything in the character of Hong Kong people reassures me that our community will remain alert both to dangers and to opportunities. And the Government behaves similarly.""
The Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr Joseph WP Wong, and the Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Mike Rowse, greeted the business executives at the reception.
"Invest Hong Kong would like to thank our clients for choosing to invest in Hong Kong," Mr Rowse said. "Their decision to set up here shows their confidence in the long-term development of the business environment and economy of Hong Kong. Their presence at today's event is a strong statement of Hong Kong's position as the best place to do business in Asia."
Mr Rowse said that 2005 was a successful year for investment promotion for Hong Kong. Invest Hong Kong assisted 232 foreign, Mainland and Taiwan companies to set up or expand operations in Hong Kong last year. Hong Kong also recorded an all-time high number of nearly 3,800 regional operations run by foreign, Mainland and Taiwan companies.
He also noted that inward investments continued to come to Hong Kong. As at the end of June, Invest Hong Kong had assisted 156 companies to invest or expand in Hong Kong, achieving more than half its annual target of 240 and representing an 8.3% increase from the same period last year.
These projects will create more than 4,285 jobs for Hong Kong. The investors reported that their investments led to the immediate creation of more than 1,699 jobs, and would create at least 2,586 additional jobs in the next two years. Initial investment by these companies investment topped $6.82 billion.
"In the past few months, we welcomed the arrival of companies involved in a variety of sectors, such as law firms, financial services companies, high-tech and telecom companies. All of these companies bring to Hong Kong their own unique technologies, industry knowledge and international experience, which further enhances our standards and positions in those sectors."
"At the same time, we have seen investment from restaurants and retail operations, which bring more choices of goods and services for the people of Hong Kong. As they set up and further expand, these companies bring economic benefits for Hong Kong by renting retail and office space, hiring commercial services for their daily operations and offering employment and training opportunities for our people at different skills levels," Mr Rowse said.
CEPA continued to have a positive impact on attracting investors to Hong Kong. Mr Rowse said that about a quarter (23%) of the companies the department had assisted so far this year indicated that CEPA played an important role in their decision to invest here. He expected that with the implementation of the new liberalisation measures CEPA's appeal to current and potential investors would be strengthened, as more qualified Hong Kong-based companies would enjoy greater access to the Mainland.
He said the flow of Mainland investments in Hong Kong remained strong. Mainland companies made up 13.5% of the department's completed projects in the first six months, and now constituted around 20% of the current live caseload.
The traditional source markets of investment projects in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and North America, and continue to be key contributors to our economy. They represented 35%, 26% and 22%, respectively, of the total number of projects completed in the first six months.
"Invest Hong Kong is experiencing a substantial year-on-year increase in investment projects so far this year -- and we are working with many more overseas, Mainland and Taiwan companies to establish and build their operations in Hong Kong," Mr Rowse said. "These investments not only bring in capital and create job opportunities, but also provide new ideas and specialist skills that enrich a variety of business sectors in Hong Kong."
Latest figures show that Hong Kong remains the preferred destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Asia. During the first quarter this year, the FDI inflows to Hong Kong reached $102.6 billion (US$13.16 billion). The total FDI inflow in the whole year of 2005 was $279.24 billion (US$35.9 billion).
Mr Rowse also extended sincere gratitude to the international business chambers and consulates for their continued support in promoting Hong Kong as the ideal business location.
Senior representatives of three companies, accompanied by Mr Rowse, met the media to share their views on the overall investment environment in Hong Kong. They were Chief Representative of Jun He Law Offices, Mr Liu Lin Fei; Member of the Executive Board & Chief Executive, Asia Division of Swiss Reinsurance Company, Mr Martyn Parker; and President Asia Pacific & Managing Director of Wavecom Asia Pacific Limited, Mr Didier Dutronc.
The executives discussed their companies' recent investment in Hong Kong. In summary:
Jun He Law Offices
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Jun He Law Offices, one of the largest and most recognised Mainland law firms, opened its Hong Kong branch office in June. This was a strategic move to further expand its regional presence, aiming at gaining better access to the global arena through its Hong Kong platform.
According to the firm, China's entry into the WTO and increasing economic relations between the Mainland and Hong Kong -- especially business opportunities arising from China's fast developing economy -- have significantly increased demand for PRC-related legal services. Jun He plans to take advantage of Hong Kong's role as the window to international finance and trade to develop these business opportunities.
Swiss Re (Swiss Insurance Training Centre)
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Swiss Re, a leading global reinsurer, opened the Swiss Insurance Training Centre (SITC) at Cyberport in May. The Centre is the company's first international campus outside of Switzerland and provides state-of-the-art courses for insurance and reinsurance professionals from throughout the region.
The establishment of SITC will enhance Hong Kong's standard of professional services and strengthen the city's attractiveness to industry players and talented professionals. Swiss Re is committed to long-term development in Hong Kong, the home of its Asia-Pacific regional headquarters.
Wavecom
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Wavecom, a leading French wireless technology provider, has selected Hong Kong for its Asia Pacific R&D centre. Recognising the need to develop its R&D capabilities in Asia to stay close to the end users, the company expanded its regional headquarters in Hong Kong by adding a new R&D arm and moved to the Hong Kong Science Park.
The company chose to expand its presence in Hong Kong for several reasons, including the availability of high quality and loyal employees, intellectual property protection and the city's excellent location and connectivity with the region and beyond.
Ends/Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Issued at HKT 20:14
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