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To encourage Mainland enterprises to leverage upon the position of Hong Kong as a springboard to expand regionally and globally, Invest Hong Kong today (September 8) organised a press conference and a seminar at the 13th China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT) in Xiamen, Fujian province to highlight the advantages of Hong Kong as a business destination for Mainland companies to go global.
Entitled "Hong Kong – Your Platform to Go Global: Capitalise on Hong Kong's Financial Services for International Expansion", the seminar began with welcoming remarks from the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, Mr Stephen Lam; Deputy Director-General of the Department of Outward Investment and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce of the PRC, Ms Liu Ying-jun; Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Simon Galpin; and Deputy Director-General of the Economic Affairs Department and Head of Commerce Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, Mr Wang Hui. The seminar attracted over 120 representatives from Mainland enterprises.
Addressing the audience, Mr Galpin said, "As a renowned international financial centre, Hong Kong possesses first-class business infrastructure, a well-established legal system, free flow of goods and information, plus liquid capital markets. Complementing Mainland China's 'going out' policy, Hong Kong is undoubtedly an ideal platform for Mainland enterprises to expand their businesses to the global market."
"In recent years, there has been an encouraging increase in the number of Mainland enterprises establishing their business presence in Hong Kong, or expanding their operations with the assistance of Invest Hong Kong."
"Since our establishment in 2000, we have successfully assisted about 250 Mainland enterprises to set up or expand in Hong Kong. In the first half of 2009, Invest Hong Kong assisted 174 foreign, Mainland and Taiwanese enterprises set up or expand their operations in the city. Twenty-six of them were Mainland enterprises, which accounted for 14.9% of the above-mentioned 174 enterprises. These figures represent a continuous growth of investment being generated from the Mainland," Mr Galpin added.
According to the figures released by the Ministry of Commerce of the PRC, as at the end of December 2008, over 3,800 Mainland enterprises from different business sectors have set up their operations in Hong Kong. The accumulated investment amount from these enterprises exceeds US$20.7 billion.
In view of the importance of the Mainland market, a nationwide investment promotion campaign, Invest Hong Kong "On Your Marks, Get-Set, Go!", targeting privately-owned-enterprises was launched in June 2007. This was rolled out in seven key Mainland provinces, including Fujian. The campaign aims to provide a channel to facilitate the Mainland enterprises in obtaining necessary information on how to expand their businesses into international markets using Hong Kong as their gateway.
The campaign in Fujian province was held in Fuzhou, Xiamen and Quanzhou in 2008 and was very well received. More than 500 representatives from over 300 local enterprises participated in the events.
Hong Kong has become an important capital-raising platform for Fujian enterprises. More than 50 enterprises from the province have raised HK$15 billion through listing in Hong Kong. Successful cases include Anta Sports Products, Zijing Mining Group Co and Min Xin Holdings.
Speakers at today's Invest Hong Kong seminar also included Mr James Wong from Bank of China (Hong Kong), Mr Wang Qi from Development Principles Group and Mr Geoffrey Tang from Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited. They respectively elaborated on subjects covering Financing and Risk Management for SMEs in Hong Kong, Strategies to Draw Interests from Private Equity Funds, and Advantages for Listing in Hong Kong.
Dr Zhang Tao from Anta Sports Products was also a guest speaker at both of the press conference and the seminar, sharing his experience in successfully establishing a business presence in Hong Kong.
Invest Hong Kong's teams based in Hong Kong and the Mainland, namely Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, continue to look forward to assisting more Mainland enterprises to set up their businesses in Hong Kong and to go international eventually.
About Invest Hong Kong
Invest Hong Kong is the award-winning department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government responsible for attracting and facilitating inward investment into the city, by providing free services and support to help overseas, Mainland and Taiwanese companies establish or expand their business presence in Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.InvestHK.gov.hk.
Ends/Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:16
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