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The Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, today (June 22) hosted a cocktail reception to thank the foreign investors whose presence in Hong Kong is a testimony to its position as Asia's international business and finance centre. The cocktail reception, attended by about 300 top executives, is an annual event to warmly welcome overseas, Mainland and Taiwanese companies that have set up or expanded in Hong Kong during the past year.
Addressing the audience, Mr Tsang said, "Hong Kong's economy expanded at its fastest pace in four years in the first quarter of 2010 with GDP growing 8.2 percent year-on-year. It was the fourth consecutive quarterly rise and above economists' expectations. This positive news is being reflected at Invest Hong Kong where the department continues to exceed its previous years' targets for completed investment projects. This year it is again on track to beat its target of 270 projects."
"Hong Kong stands to benefit from the flow of investment which shifted towards Asia. This shift has been magnified by the credit crunch and the global financial crisis. We are committed to capitalising on this and enhancing our overall competitiveness through a raft of initiatives. These include the growing network of double taxation agreements, the Renminbi Trade Settlement scheme, and the development of six new growth industries where Hong Kong has clear advantages."
The Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Simon Galpin said, "While celebrating our 10th anniversary this year, it is very encouraging to see that we have already assisted 178 foreign companies to set up or expand their operations in the city in the first half of 2010."
Mr Galpin thanked the past year's investors for creating 1,980 new job opportunities within the first year of their operation or expansion in Hong Kong. (Note: Job opportunity number according to information supplied by individual companies)
Since the establishment of Invest Hong Kong in July 2000, over 2,000 investment projects have been completed, creating more than 25,000 new jobs in the first year of operation or expansion and in excess of HK$52 billion of investment.
Mr Galpin added, "In terms of geographical distribution, in the first half of 2010 the number of completed investment projects from Asia Pacific accounted for 39 percent, those from Europe for 31 percent and North America 24 percent. To support future potential growth from BRIC markets, we have hired additional consultants in India and Russia."
Prior to the reception party, four senior executives from companies that Invest Hong Kong has assisted met the media to share their insights on investment opportunities in Hong Kong. They included: the President of BGI (Beijing Genomics Institute), Professor Wang Jian; Regional Manager, Hong Kong, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Mr Ernest Law; the Vice President of Savannah College of Art and Design, Mr John Rowan; and Assistant to President of Suning Appliance Ltd and the General Manager of Suning Citicall Appliance Ltd, Mr Gary Gong.
In summary, their company profiles are outlined below:
BGI (Beijing Genomics Institute)
Founded in 1999, BGI is actively involved in international human genome research projects. The company has over 1,300 full-time staff working in its Beijing and Shenzhen facilities. The Hong Kong company will become its international office and will handle the rapidly growing overseas markets and operations including research and development, marketing and financing. Hong Kong was chosen over other Asian countries because of the city's international reputation, advanced commercial systems and industrial processes, as well as vigorous intellectual property protection. The Hong Kong facility will use the latest Next Generation Sequencing Technology and a supercomputer platform to grow into one of the world's biggest genomic centres and bring in more international projects and collaborations.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD)
Founded in 1968 and listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, NBAD is one of the largest banks in the United Arab Emirates. NBAD is the first Arab bank to acquire a full banking licence in Hong Kong and recently launched its debut branch in the city heralding the beginning of its operations in Asia. The bank chose Hong Kong as its future regional headquarters because it provides easy access to Mainland China and the rest of Asia. The Hong Kong branch will provide wholesale banking services to support the bank's Arab clients' ambitions in Asia and its Asian clients' ambitions in the Middle East. Its commercial and corporate banking services include trade finance, treasury, correspondent banking and selective personal banking services.
The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)
SCAD is a renowned art, design and digital media university founded in the United States in 1978. Its first Asian campus will open in Hong Kong this autumn at the former North Kowloon Magistracy Building in Sham Shui Po. SCAD secured this historic site with its conservation record and academic excellence. This brings its number of global campuses to four, having already established facilities in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, US, and in Lacoste, France. Courses offered in Hong Kong cover advertising, animation, graphic design, illustration, interactive design and game development, motion media design, photography, and visual effects, etc.
Suning Appliance Co Ltd
Suning Appliance Co Ltd is China's largest electrical retailer with over 1,000 stores in 300 cities nationwide. The company was founded in 1990 when Zhang Jindong opened a small store in Nanjing selling air conditioners. Suning employs more than 100,000 staff and was listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange in July 2004. In 2009, Suning entered Hong Kong by acquiring Citicall for HK$215 million. The company's plan is to make Suning a household brand in Hong Kong and to expand its Hong Kong office's role to cover trading and sourcing buoyed by the city's many advantages.
Ends/Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:01
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