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A series of interviews with key business and financial officials will roll out from today (July 15) in the build-up to a high-level Finance Forum organised by Hong Kong in Shanghai.
The Finance Forum, titled "Stronger Links, Strong Markets: Hong Kong, the Mainland and the World", will be held on July 21 and is an HKSAR programme for Expo 2010 Shanghai China (Shanghai Expo).
The interviewees include the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, the Director-General of Invest Hong Kong, Mr Simon Galpin, and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) Chairman, Mr Ronald Arculli.
In the first interview, Mr Galpin gave a brief outline of the work of Invest Hong Kong and highlighted the significance of the Finance Forum for Hong Kong.
He said, "We are very keen to use the forum to reach out to companies, not only from Shanghai but also across Mainland China, and educate them on some of the opportunities that they can take advantage of by having an office in Hong Kong."
Mr Galpin also underscored the potential benefits for investors in choosing Hong Kong as a launch pad from which to tap into markets on the Mainland and throughout the region.
"Hong Kong is often seen as a great place to use as a command and control centre, not only to access opportunities on the Mainland, but also elsewhere in the region," Mr Galpin said.
"The reasons why they should choose Hong Kong? Well, much goes back to our enduring advantages, our rule of law, our free flow of information, the fact that barriers to entry for companies setting up in Hong Kong are very low. But also some of the new developments that make Hong Kong even more attractive – the fact that we have CEPA, the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, with the Mainland, also a double taxation arrangement with the Mainland, both of which clearly position Hong Kong as the ideal place to make investments into the Mainland."
The three-part interview series will be rolled out via various multimedia platforms including Hong Kong's Expo website, www.hkexpo2010.gov.hk, Shanghai Expo Youtube channel, www.youtube.com/hkexpo2010, and Youku channel u.youku.com/hkexpo2010 .
Viewers can share the videos via the interactive platforms. Stay tuned for the second and third interviews.
The Finance Forum is organised by the HKSAR Government's Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, Invest Hong Kong and HKEx. It will be held on July 21 at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel.
For more details about the event, please visit Hong Kong's Expo website, www.hkexpo2010.gov.hk .
Ends/Thursday, July 15, 2010
Issued at HKT 17:00
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