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A Hong Kong information and communications technology (ICT) delegation led by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau will visit Beijing from today (May 11) to May 14 to attend the 15th International Soft China (ISC) expo and promote ICT co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong.
The delegation will attend the opening ceremony of the ISC tomorrow (May 12). The ISC is the largest annual national software trade show organised by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs and the People's Government of Beijing Municipality.
A Hong Kong Pavilion will be set up at the ISC. The pavilion features three thematic zones for the display of award winning products, digital entertainment and financial services respectively. More than 20 Hong Kong enterprises will showcase their quality products and services, including software products awarded in China Outstanding Software Product Awards (COSPA) Election 2010. The COSPA election is an annual national software product assessment event. Awarded products will be recommended for use by government departments, state-owned enterprises and other enterprises. Since 2009, nominations have been open to software products developed by companies registered in Hong Kong. In 2009, of the 86 awarded software products nation-wide, nine were from Hong Kong. In 2010, 75 software products were awarded, of which there are another nine products from Hong Kong.
The Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Communications and Technology), Miss Elizabeth Tse, who leads the delegation, will speak at the opening of the First China International Financial Technology Forum at the ISC on May 13. The forum is co-organised by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) of the Hong Kong SAR Government and MIIT. It will bring together experts and industry elites to share their experiences and explore the development of the Mainland software industry in the context of economic globalisation and an increasingly international financial outlook.
The Hong Kong delegation comprises some 60 members, including OGCIO representatives, Hong Kong Pavilion exhibitors and forum speakers, Hong Kong ICT Awards winners, incubatees of Cyberport's incubation programmes, and representatives from the ICT industry.
During her stay in Beijing, Miss Tse will take the opportunity to meet with the MIIT officials to discuss Hong Kong's work in complementing the National 12th Five-Year Plan as well as collaboration opportunities between the Mainland and Hong Kong on the ICT front.
Ends/Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Issued at HKT 11:20
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