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Merchandise trade between Miyagi Prefecture and Hong Kong exceeded 26 billion yen last year and grew a significant 113% in the last five years. This was much faster than the overall growth in bilateral trade between Japan and Hong Kong, which registered a healthy average of 7.2% growth per annum since 2003 to reach US$52 billion in 2007.
These figures were revealed by the Principal Economic and Trade Representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Mrs Jennie Chok, during a seminar attended by some 150 government officials and business leaders in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, today (September 19).
At the seminar, Mrs Chok outlined Hong Kong's strengths as a business centre and its infrastructural developments that aim to enhance its connectivity with Mainland China.
She noted that at present some 3,900 international companies maintain regional headquarters or regional offices in Hong Kong, including around 750 Japanese enterprises whose businesses cover sectors such as electronics, banking, transportation and retail services.
Mrs Chok added, "Hong Kong is Miyagi's fifth largest export market and over 99% of our bilateral trade actually consists of exports from Miyagi to Hong Kong."
Noting that Hong Kong people had developed a strong interest in Japanese food products, she pointed out that Hong Kong, with a population of only about seven million, was the largest export market in the world for Japanese food and agricultural products in 2007.
"According to the Japan External Trade Organisation's statistics, 19.4%, or over 80 billion yen's worth, of Japan's total exports of agricultural and food products was sold to Hong Kong last year, well exceeding the 16.1% that was exported to the US market," Mrs Chok said, citing Sendai beef, Miyagino pork, Hitomebore and Sasanishiki rice, strawberries and seafood as examples of Miyagi's renowned food products.
Among the senior officials attending the seminar today were the Governor of Miyagi Prefecture, Mr Yoshihiro Murai; member of the House of Councillors, Mr Azuma Konno; and Director-General of Tohoku Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Mr Hisanori Nei.
Ends/Friday, September 19, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:00
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