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As interest in Hong Kong from entrepreneurial Mainland companies continues to rise, Invest Hong Kong today opened a dedicated service centre in Shanghai. The new centre is part of the award-winning Hong Kong government department's strategy to promote the advantages of Hong Kong as a business location and to support Mainland companies interested in setting up in the city.
The Invest Hong Kong Shanghai office will be staffed by four inward investment professionals and will provide a range of free services including market research, advice on office rental, staff hiring, visa issues and networking opportunities.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Invest Hong Kong's Director-General of Investment Promotion, Mike Rowse, said, "A larger presence in Shanghai is a logical response to the rapid growth in demand for our services from companies in the Yangtze River Delta region. We look forward to being able to better promote Hong Kong's advantages to the local business community, as well as offering tailored services to individual companies."
In 2006, 282 Mainland companies invested in Hong Kong, injecting more than US$2 billion into the Hong Kong economy, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) reported recently. Mainland companies are attracted by Hong Kong's international business environment, attractive tax rates and fund-raising capabilities.
367 Mainland-related companies are now listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Main Board and GEM markets. Last year alone, these companies raised HK$384.9 billion, a 94 percent increase on 2005. Yangtze River Delta companies are well represented with 25 coming from Shanghai, 21 from Jiangsu and 17 from Zhejiang.
"We are seeing a strong trend towards more companies expanding into Hong Kong and we're fortunate that the Central Government, not least the Ministry of Commerce, is very supportive of our efforts to promote the advantages, opportunities and services Hong Kong has to offer," said Mr Rowse.
Invest Hong Kong was recently involved in assisting Shanghai Airlines as they opened an office in the city. The airline has already introduced three flights a day between Hong Kong and Shanghai, and plans to expand its services in line with market demand.
"We have a solid track record of helping ambitious, internationally-minded, Mainland companies to move outside their domestic market. Over the past three years we've helped more than 110 Mainland companies and the trend is for this to increase substantially over the next five years," added Mr Rowse.
The establishment of the Invest Hong Kong Shanghai office is part of a long-term China strategy. In 2006 Invest Hong Kong's Guangzhou office was almost doubled in size, and a new office in Beijing was opened. A further office in Chengdu will be opened on 28 March.
Invest Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government department charged with encouraging and facilitating inward investment into the city by providing the support needed to establish or expand a business presence here. For more information, please visit the website at www.investhk.gov.hk.
Ends/Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:23
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