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The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London (London ETO) greeted the Year of the Ram by hosting a Chinese New Year reception in London on February 23 (London time) and participating in the large-scale London Chinatown Chinese New Year celebration in Trafalgar Square, Chinatown and Shaftesbury Avenue on February 22 (London time).
The Director-General of the London ETO, Ms Erica Ng, welcomed several hundreds of friends of Hong Kong at London's Whitehall Banqueting House during the Chinese New Year reception on February 23. Amongst the guests at the reception were UK government officials, parliamentarians, mayors from various London Boroughs, senior diplomats, leading figures in the business world and media representatives.
Speaking at the reception, Ms Ng said, "Hong Kong's economy is forging ahead like a particularly energetic Ram. Our economic growth is linked to our heavy, consistent investment in infrastructure. For instance, we are pressing ahead with the construction of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. We are also planning the single most important and expensive project after returning to China - a third runway for our International Airport."
Ms Ng also updated the guests on the latest ground-breaking financial development in Hong Kong, i.e. the Shanghai¡VHong Kong Stock Connect, and also the thriving entrepreneurship in the city. "We are seeing rapid growth in the number of local and foreign entrepreneurs setting up shop in Hong Kong, with a view to expanding globally and into the massive Mainland and Asian markets," said Ms Ng.
The reception featured a performance by the Hong Kong music group Wuji Ensemble, which plays a variety of traditional music pieces on Chinese music instruments, as well as a lion dance.
On February 22, the London ETO took part in the large-scale annual London Chinatown Chinese New Year celebration, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people. With the support of the London ETO, Wuji Ensemble also performed on the main Chinese New Year celebration stage in Trafalgar Square. Another stage called "Hong Kong in London Chinatown" was created on Shaftesbury Avenue.
Besides the above events, the London ETO co-organised a Chinese New Year reception in Stockholm, Sweden on February 16 (Stockholm time) together with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and Royal Sweden Hong Kong Business Council. At the reception, Ms Ng said, "The co-operation between Hong Kong and Sweden has scaled new heights especially in the area of design and innovation, and technology." The reception also featured a performance by Wuji Ensemble.
The London ETO will co-host Chinese New Year receptions together with the HKTDC and local business associations in Copenhagen, Denmark as well as Moscow and St Petersburg, Russia in March.
Ends/Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 06:21
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