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At a Chinese New Year reception held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on February 4, 2008, Mr Stephen Wong, Director, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs, Berlin (Designate) said, "With closer economic and social ties, Hong Kong and Slovenia will maintain their winning momentum on various fronts." The reception was jointly hosted by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia to celebrate the Year of the Rat.
In his welcome speech, Mr Wong said that Hong Kong had addressed successive challenges successfully since reunification with the Mainland and had been recently recognised by Time magazine as one of the most globalised cities, along with New York and London.
Looking ahead, Mr Wong said that Hong Kong was proud to be a co-host city for the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events in 2008. He also noted that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government would focus on strengthening its position as a global financial hub and as an international convention, exhibition and tourism capital. It would also step up efforts to attract high-quality talent to Hong Kong.
The HKETO and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry also co-organised a seminar, "Hong Kong Means Business", before the reception. At the seminar, Mr Wong explained how Hong Kong's free market policies and professional services could benefit Slovenian companies. As the world's leading free economy, all foreign investors enjoyed a level playing field in Hong Kong and the best environment for collecting business information and making business decisions. Hong Kong had the best professional services, including legal, banking, financial, logistics, insurance and accounting, to support Slovenian companies doing business in Hong Kong or on the Mainland through Hong Kong, he said.
More than 100 guests attended the business seminar and reception.
The reception initiated a series of Chinese New Year celebratory activities organised by the HKETO. In February and March, similar receptions will be held in other major cities in Central Europe including Bratislava in the Slovak Republic (February 5), Vienna (February 14), Budapest (February 20), Prague (February 21) and Warsaw (March 4).
Ends/Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Issued at HKT 17:00
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