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The "Hong Kong – Guangdong Business Conference USA 2005", will be held in San Francisco on Friday (October 14). The conference is co-hosted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government and the People's Government of Guangdong Province. Invest Hong Kong and the Guangdong Department of Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation are co-organisers of the conference, with the support of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco.
The Financial Secretary of the HKSAR Government, Mr Henry Tang, and the Governor of the Guangdong Province, Mr Huang Huahua, will lead a delegation comprising senior government officials and business leaders from Hong Kong and 21 major cities of Guangdong Province to attend the event.
The business conference will discuss the attractive trade and investment opportunities in the Greater Pearl River Delta, Guangdong and Hong Kong for US business. Participants will develop a better understanding of the current business climates in Hong Kong and Guangdong as well as their favourable investment environment. Apart from highlighting the achievements of the regional co-operation within the Greater Pearl River Delta (comprising Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao) and the Pan-Pearl River Delta (including nine mainland provinces plus Hong Kong and Macao), the event will also present the promising prospects for further economic development in these regions and the opportunities for US companies. More than 700 top US corporate executives are expected to attend the event.
This business conference is the first joint investment promotion organised by Hong Kong and Guangdong in US. The City of San Francisco, along with California Chamber of Commerce and other organisations have also provided support to the event.
The Consul General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco, Mr Peng Keyu, will give opening remarks at the conference, while Mr Henry Tang and Mr Huang Huahua will deliver keynote addresses. Representatives from Du Pont and EMC Corporation will share their experiences in investing in Hong Kong and Guangdong.
Mr Henry Tang said before departing for San Francisco that the joint promotion was an excellent demonstration of the growing and mutually beneficial cooperation between Hong Kong and Guangdong. "At the business conference, we will highlight to US companies the unique business opportunities that Hong Kong and Guangdong together will present to them," Mr Tang said.
A Hong Kong seminar entitled "Capitalising on the Hong Kong Advantage" will be held concurrently with the business conference in the afternoon. It will facilitate focused discussion on Hong Kong's various business advantages. The seminar is co-organised by Invest Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in San Francisco and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
The session will explore Hong Kong's role as a technology transfer centre as well as a service centre for Mainland China. Business executives active in South China will discuss how their companies have capitalised on Hong Kong's various advantages to develop their technology-related business and run regional operations to further their expansion in the Mainland market. Prominent US companies, such as United Commercial Bank, Pericom Semiconductor Corporation, AppoTech Limited and YesAsia.com, will share their experiences of successfully using Hong Kong as a springboard to the Mainland.
The Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Mike Rowse, said, "The US has been one of our largest sources of foreign investment with cumulative investment amounting to $187.6 billion. In the latest survey of regional offices representing overseas companies in Hong Kong, the US again tops the list of having the most regional headquarters (262) and regional offices (606) in Hong Kong. The findings coincide with our observation that an increasing number of US companies are using Hong Kong as a base to manage their business in the region or as a gateway to China.
"We are delighted to strengthen our contacts with the US business community and give them first-hand information on the business opportunities in Hong Kong. InvestHK is the HKSAR Government agency responsible for bringing foreign investment to our city. We certainly welcome more US enterprises using Hong Kong as a platform to ride on the fast-growing China phenomenon."
The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, Ms Doris Cheung, said that the US community would find the business conference insightful.
"San Francisco is a very convenient meeting place for Northern Californian businessmen. This business conference will provide Bay Area business leaders with a better understanding of the business environment in Hong Kong and Guangdong, and how Hong Kong can provide new opportunities for California enterprises. It will also showcase how Californian companies have successfully capitalised on Hong Kong's advantages in enhancing their businesses in Mainland China. The conference will no doubt provide useful insights for the business community on the investment opportunities in the region," she noted.
"Hong Kong – Guangdong Business Conference USA 2005"
Date: Friday, October 14
Time: 10am
Venue: San Francisco Hilton Hotel, 333 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco, US
For registration or further details, please visit the website at http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=91449.
Ends/Monday, October 10, 2005
Issued at HKT 16:25
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