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The Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, who is leading a Hong Kong business delegation to the Mainland, today (July 24) started the visit programme in Liaoning.
This morning, they attended the Hong Kong - Liaoning Business Co-operation Symposium. Addressing the symposium, Mr Tsang said that by the end of 2007, Hong Kong had invested in more than 9,600 projects in Liaoning, with a total investment that ranked first among investors in the province. Liaoning was also the preferred choice among the three northeast provinces for Hong Kong investors.
He added that last year Liaoning had invested US$148 million in 27 projects in Hong Kong. There were also seven Liaoning enterprises listed in Hong Kong, he said.
The delegation later attended a networking reception and lunch after the symposium. Speaking at the lunch, Mr Tsang pointed out that Liaoning was in a very good position. With its strengths in traditional heavy and equipment manufacturing industries, and newly developed industries such as information technology and software outsourcing, there would be ample room for Liaoning and Hong Kong's service industries to work together.
In the afternoon, the delegates visited Neusoft Group where they learned about the research and development standards of medical equipment in the Mainland. They also explored how Hong Kong companies could co-operate with their Mainland counterparts to develop new products and reach out to the international market.
This was followed by a visit to Shenyang Wu Ai Market, one of the largest trading and wholesale markets in the region, and Zhongxing-Shenyang Commercial City. In Shenyang Finance and Trade Development Zone, members were briefed on the development plan of this financial zone.
The Chief Executive and the delegation attended a welcome dinner hosted by Shenyang Municipal Government in the evening.
Ends/Thursday, July 24, 2008
Issued at HKT 19:30
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