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The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (HKETO) has encouraged the Canadian business sector to make full use of Hong Kong's advantages in tapping markets along the Belt and Road.
Speaking at a Belt and Road seminar in Montreal organised by the Montreal section of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association today (March 22, Montreal time), the HKETO's Acting Director, Mr Nick Choi, told the participants that Hong Kong is well placed to partner with Canadian companies to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.
"With a gross economic volume of US$22,000 billion and a total population of 4.4 billion along the Belt and Road, the Initiative offers businesses unparalleled opportunities to tap into new markets," Mr Choi said.
"With our distinctive advantage of being a 'super-connector' operating under the 'one country, two systems' arrangement, Hong Kong can play a central role in delivering the enormous opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative."
In the area of capital formation and financing, Mr Choi said that as a major international financial centre with well-developed Renminbi payment and settlement infrastructure, Hong Kong has the expertise, experience and connections to serve as the fundraising hub and financing platform of the Belt and Road Initiative.
When discussing Hong Kong's international business network, Mr Choi said that Hong Kong is the most connected international trading centre and a major platform for Mainland China's foreign trade and investment, handling some 20 per cent of the Mainland's international trade.
Being the world-renowned free port which has been ranked as the world's freest economy for 22 consecutive years by the Heritage Foundation, Hong Kong has developed an extensive network of business connections which can be expanded and extended to include countries along the Belt and Road," he said.
"Hong Kong is strategically located in the heart of Asia and equipped with world-class infrastructure. It is a global transport and logistics centre which has all that is needed to serve as a gateway connecting the Mainland of China and beyond."
Mr Choi also told the seminar that Hong Kong can provide high-end international legal and dispute resolution services to companies from different legal and business systems looking for a common platform to settle their differences.
In his conclusion, Mr Choi reiterated that Canadian enterprises should make full use of Hong Kong's strengths in tapping the massive Asian markets and beyond under the Belt and Road Initiative. He also told the participants that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council will jointly hold a Belt and Road summit in Hong Kong this May, with government and business representatives from the economies along the Belt and Road being invited to share insights on the various opportunities offered.
More than 50 participants joined the seminar today. Mr Choi will speak at a similar seminar in Markham on March 24 (Thursday).
Ends/Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Issued at HKT 09:55
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