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Source Direct International Limited (SDIL), the sourcing operation of the largest Home Shopping group in the UK, is to base its global headquarters in Hong Kong, strengthening Hong Kong's leading position as the sourcing hub in Asia.

More than 50 employees will be based at SDIL's headquarters in Hong Kong. They will be responsible for all products including garments, home furnishings, electrical items, toys, household products and gifts for its parent companies in the UK - Littlewoods Home Shopping Ltd and Shop Direct Group Ltd. The headquarters will also oversee offices in Asia, including Bangalore, Bangkok, Delhi, Dhaka and Shanghai.

The Managing Director of SDIL, Mr Tim Nolan, said, "The company chose Hong Kong for a number of reasons. Hong Kong is a very dynamic place, where trading has become a 'way of life', and this is matched by the availability of a skilled workforce and a pool of world-class university educated employees, with fluency in English, Cantonese and Putonghua. This will allow us to communicate and co-ordinate effectively with suppliers and offices across the region and with the UK."

The Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Simon Galpin, welcomed the company's decision to choose Hong Kong as its base in Asia.

During a meeting with Mr Nolan today (July 8), he said, "Hong Kong has a long history of being a trading hub of Asia. More than half of the 3,200 overseas companies with regional operations in Hong Kong are involved in trade-related services. Our city offers unmatched advantages for sourcing companies like SDIL - world-class infrastructure, sophisticated transportation system, reliable legal and financial system, and availability of professional consulting services on operations in the region."

"Hong Kong is Asia's premier sourcing hub for manufacturers in the region, as well as next to the largest and fastest growing manufacturing base in the world. Together with traditional links to other parts of Mainland China and Asia, this positioning makes Hong Kong the perfect platform from which to source products like garments, toys, household products or gifts. We are pleased that SDIL will use Hong Kong as its base to grow its regional business and develop its supplier network," Mr Galpin concluded.

According to Mr Nolan, the company is very optimistic about its business development in Hong Kong and has shown its long-term commitment by investing significantly in resources to support the business strategy in sourcing, merchandising, quality teams, technical engineers, finance, human resources and general management. SDIL plans to further expand and train the local team in the next few months as business grows.

Mr Nolan said, "We see even greater opportunities for the Hong Kong office in the foreseeable future. From 2005 onwards, it is expected that the quotas on clothing and textiles products originated from Hong Kong and the Mainland will be removed, which should only help enhance the opportunities in the region."

Invest Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government department charged with encouraging and facilitating foreign investment into the city by providing all the support needed to establish a business presence here.

Ends/Thursday, July 8, 2004

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