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A series of events are being held in Australia to mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China.
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Sydney has dedicated events in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney in June, July and August as part of the celebrations marking Hong Kong's re-unification with the People's Republic of China on July 1, 1997.
The events include a special 10th anniversary reception in Sydney on July 10, and a photographic exhibition at Hong Kong House, Sydney from July 18 to 24. The HKETO has also supported business and community organisations in arranging celebratory events, including the Hong Kong-Australia Business Association chapters in South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria, which have arranged 10th anniversary dinners in Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne in June and July. Dinners have also been organised by the Hong Kong Club of Victoria in Melbourne on July 2 and the Hong Kong Association of Queensland in Brisbane on July 7. And a Chinese Music Concert is being held in Melbourne on July 1 by the Victorian Chapter of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Alumni Association in Australia. The HKETO is also a cultural partner in the film festivals being held in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, which are featuring specially selected Hong Kong produced films.
A special report in "The Australian", an influential national newspaper, will be published on Friday (June 29).
The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Mrs Jenny Wallis, said today (June 27, Sydney time) the 10th anniversary was not only an important milestone in the continuing Hong Kong story, but in relations between Hong Kong and Australia, which had strengthened in the past decade. Total trade was now valued at more than A$8 billion, an increase of 25% over the figure in 1997. Visitor numbers had also risen.
"Over the past 10 years, an average of nearly 150,000 Hong Kong people have visited Australia each year; while in the past three years alone, the number of Australians visiting Hong Kong has risen by 38% to some 564,000," she said.
Two-way investment continues to flow between Australia and Hong Kong. At the end of 2005, Hong Kong was the fourth largest investor in Australia, with investments totalling more than A$31 billion according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics in a range of services including electricity supply, food processing, insurance, engineering, hotels and telecommunications. Australia's investment in Hong Kong at the end of 2004 was some A$11.4 billion in such areas as banking, insurance, security services and professional services.
"Since 1997, there have been more than 80 completed projects in Australia in which InvestHK and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office have been involved in, with the majority being SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)," Mrs Wallis said. "In that period we have also met more than 1,400 companies throughout Australia."
Ends/Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:22
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