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Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) today (January 22) announced that the department assisted 375 overseas and Mainland companies to set up or expand in Hong Kong in 2015. This number represents an all-time high and a year-on-year increase of 5.6 per cent.
InvestHK's Director-General of Investment Promotion, Dr Simon Galpin, said he was delighted to see the increase in the number of companies assisted in 2015.
"2015 was another record year for InvestHK in terms of the number of companies assisted. Despite ongoing challenges in the global economy, Hong Kong continues to attract overseas and Mainland investors because of its enduring advantages and emerging business opportunities," Dr Galpin said.
"In the year ahead, we will continue to identify investors from key sectors and markets. Our targets include companies ranging from entrepreneur-led ventures to multinationals that plan to set up or expand in our city," he added.
2015 Annual Results: Highlights
The 375 companies came from 36 economies. Mainland China continued to lead with a total of 78 companies, followed by the US with 49 companies, the UK (36), Japan (31) and France (20). For the first time, InvestHK helped two companies from Latvia and Seychelles to set up in Hong Kong. They are a bank representative office and a food and beverage trading and manufacturing company respectively.
In terms of emerging subsectors, the department assisted a growing number of companies in the Internet of Things and financial technology industries (a total of 19 in 2015 compared with nine in 2014).
Meanwhile, InvestHK also assisted 69 start-ups, which represented 18.4 per cent of the total number of companies assisted in 2015. They were mainly from France, the US and the UK (10 from each). The department will continue to promote Hong Kong as one of the fastest growing start-up ecosystems in the world.
Looking Forward
Dr Galpin said that InvestHK will continue to reach out to potential clients in priority markets including Mainland China and those in Association of Southeast Asian Nations economies.
"We are looking to 2016 with cautious optimism. Despite the global economic uncertainty, we have a strong pipeline of companies and are optimistic that we will be able to meet our annual target of assisting 390 companies in 2016," Dr Galpin said.
About InvestHK
InvestHK is the department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government established in July 2000 to attract foreign direct investment and support overseas and Mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong. It provides free advice and customised services to help businesses succeed in Hong Kong's vibrant economy. As of December 2015, InvestHK had completed investment projects for over 3 820 companies which have created more than 41 200 new jobs in the first year of operation or expansion and over HK$101 billion of investment. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.
For event photos, please visit www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72157663192910280.
Ends/Friday, January 22, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:25
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