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The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO), Berlin, of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) held a business seminar on October 8 at the University of Applied Sciences in Graz, Austria, with the support of the Graz Chamber of Commerce. Mr Stephen Wong Kai-yi, Director of HKETO, Berlin, gave three presentations on Hong Kong, namely Hong Kong as Business Portal to China, Creative Industry in Hong Kong, and Green Hong Kong: Environmental Protection, Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicles.
"The fundamentals are the 'One Country, Two Systems'. Hong Kong's capitalist system and life-style shall remain unchanged for 50 years, which provides the basis of free trade. Hong Kong has been ranked as the world's freest economy for the past 15 years. In addition, according to the newly released World Competitiveness Yearbook 2009 by the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Hong Kong is the second most competitive economy in the world and the first in Asia," Mr Wong said.
"The Government of the HKSAR has proactively stepped up efforts to foster the longer-term growth and development of the economy by developing six knowledge-based industries which are considered of good potential and have a competitive edge. Among the six knowledge-based industries, the creative industry is of great importance. Like Austria, Hong Kong has an edge in a number of creative industry domains such as film, design, architecture and advertising," Mr Wong added.
"In the film sector, for example, Hong Kong is an excellent location for filming as well as post-production, given its rich pool of creative professionals. The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) fosters collaboration and joint productions between Hong Kong and the Mainland of China. Not only does CEPA benefit film companies in Hong Kong and the Mainland of China but also fosters partnerships between Hong Kong and foreign film companies. This is because CEPA is nationality neutral and Austrian companies can also benefit from it," he said.
He also briefed the audience on the establishment of CreateHK and activities such as Creative October, East Asian Games and the Asian Cultural Co-operation Forum to promote creative industries in Hong Kong.
"Apart from the creative industry, the Government of the HKSAR is also devoted to promoting environmental protection. Over EUR3 billion worth of infrastructure has been planned for the coming five years. Infrastructure projects include, just to name a few, sludge treatment facilities, harbour area treatment plants and renewable energy," Mr Wong said.
"Promotion of the use of electric vehicles (EVs) is also a top-priority topic in environmental protection. In order to promote the use of EVs, the Government of the HKSAR has extended the waiver of the First Registration Tax on EVs for five years till March 31, 2014," he added.
This is the first business event organised by HKETO, Berlin, in Graz, the second largest city in Austria, after it started operations in March 2009. Representatives from the Graz Chamber of Commerce as well as the business and professional sectors attended the seminar, followed by a showing of the Hong Kong film "Shinjuku Incident", starring Jackie Chan. Meetings with representatives from state-funded organisations in the creative industry, the Cultural Bureau of Graz and the Chamber of Commerce of Austria were also arranged.
Ends/Monday, October 12, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:32
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