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Dutch companies again demonstrated their strong interest in expanding into Asia, coming out in strength today (June 12) to attend a seminar on business development in southern China. The full-day event offered practical advice to potential investors on the combined advantages of Hong Kong and Dongguan as a way of building a competitive business presence in China.
It is the eighth time Hong Kong and Dongguan have joined forces to promote the complimentary benefits of the two cities which together offer competitive manufacturing, access to affluent Mainland consumers and international business services and lifestyle.
The seminar was organised by Invest Hong Kong of the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Dongguan Municipal People's Government of the People's Republic of China. About 200 senior representatives from Dutch companies attended today's event.
Speaking at the event, Invest Hong Kong's Director-General of Investment Promotion, Mr Mike Rowse said, "The Netherlands is currently one of the largest sources of European investment in Hong Kong, with some 260 Dutch companies involved in finance, trade, transportation and retail."
"Many are classic examples of companies using Hong Kong as a strategic base to develop business in Mainland China and further a field across Asia. They tend to use Hong Kong as a regional management centre, while developing manufacturing or sourcing capabilities in Pearl River Delta cities, such as Dongguan which has an excellent production infrastructure that compliments Hong Kong's strengths," added Mr Rowse.
Introducing his city to Dutch business executives, Deputy Mayor of Dongguan Municipality, Mr Jiang Ling said, "In China, Dongguan is both an ancient and young city, an innovative city full of youthful passion. For the past two decades, the GDP has risen fast with an annual growth rate reaching over 20%, making Dongguan one of China's fastest-developing cities. Dongguan's business climate has developed into five features: well-developed infrastructure, well-established industrial chain, flexible investment types, favourable business and living environment, and its efficient, pragmatic and honest government."
"Amsterdam and Dongguan enjoy strong complementarities in economic development. We sincerely hope that today's seminar serves as a new starting point to further deepen our business cooperation with the Netherlands by giving full play to Hong Kong-Dongguan's interactive advantages. We warmly welcome Dutch enterprises to visit and invest in Dongguan, and to continuously promote and enhance the economic and trade cooperation with each other."
The one-day programme included a business seminar and individual consultation and networking sessions. In the seminar, Mr Rob Westerhof, retired CEO of Philips Electronics North America, and Mr Simon Franken, CEO of SHV (China) Investment Co Ltd, shared firsthand experiences in operating in Hong Kong and Dongguan. Mr Adri P. Kranenburg, Lawyer, Van Mens & Wisselink and Coordinator IGC talked about doing business in Hong Kong and Mainland China from a legal perspective. Ms Linda Lin, Transaction Service Partner of KPMG China, introduced accounting issues in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council's Benelux marketing officer, Ms Anna Silva, introduced their services which help Dutch companies identify trading partners in the Southern China region.
Ends/Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:22
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