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Hong Kong has received accolades not only as an excellent place for business, but also as an Internet hub and an ideal tourist destination, according to the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Toronto (HKETO), Miss Gloria Lo.
Speaking today (February 20, Toronto time) at a briefing reception jointly hosted by the HKETO and the Toronto office of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), Miss Lo emphasised that Hong Kong has many areas with strong business potential.
"Take the Internet as an example. Hong Kong was found last year to have the world's fastest peak speed of 54.1 megabits per second," she said. "No country previously had gone beyond 50 Mbps." South Korea recorded the second fastest speed of 48.18 Mbps, while Japan was third, with a peak download speed of 42.2 Mbps.
Miss Lo said Hong Kong is an Internet hub with strong infrastructure and an information technology (IT)-savvy population. "There is great potential for information and communications technology (ICT) business including new IT solutions, cloud computing, app development and data centres," she said. An international software company based in Waterloo, Ontario, announced last week that it will be providing software for the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
The HKETO Director also described Hong Kong as an international business and cultural hub, and as one of the world's most liveable cities: it stands proud as Asia's world city in the areas of financial services, ICT, environment industries, culture and creativity, and more.
"Hong Kong is an international financial centre and among the top spots for fund-raising," said Miss Lo. "We are also the largest centre for offshore business for Renminbi. We see great potential for Renminbi offshore business with the continuous expansion of international trade of Mainland China."
On culture and creativity, Hong Kong will continue to promote its film industry. It will also develop the West Kowloon Cultural District, which will accommodate a cluster of state-of-the-art cultural and performance venues.
As a world city, built on its intoxicating cosmopolitan appeal, Hong Kong has become a "must-stop" destination for international visitors going to and from the Mainland. According to the HKTB, the total visitor arrivals in 2012 reached 48,615,113, an increase of 16.0 per cent over the yearly total in 2011. Of the total figure, 48.9 per cent, or 23.77 million, were overnight visitors. This is 6.5 per cent more than in the previous year.
Miss Lo added that there will be a series of Canadian trade missions going to Hong Kong this year, including:
* Canadian Film Delegation to the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (March 18 to 21)
* Canadian ICT delegation coinciding with the International ICT Expo (April 12 to 17)
* Canadian Medical Devices and Supplies Trade Mission coinciding with the Hong Kong International Medical Devices and Supplies Fair (May 14 to 16)
* Canadian Environmental Mission coinciding with the Eco Expo Asia - International Trade Fair on Environmental Protection (October)
* Canadian Supply Chain and Logistics Mission coinciding with the Asian Logistics and Maritime Conference (November 5 to 8)
* Canadian Delegation to the Business of Intellectual Property Asia Forum (December)
* Hong Kong Forum (December)
* World SME Expo (December 5 to 7)
* Canadian Financial Delegation for the Asian Financial Forum (January 13 to 17, 2014)
Ends/Thursday, February 21, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:38
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