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Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) today (July 9) announced that in the first half of 2015 the department assisted a record 260 Mainland and overseas companies to set up or expand in Hong Kong.
The Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK, Dr Simon Galpin, said he was pleased by the interim figures, which represent a 17 per cent rise compared to those for the same period last year. He was particularly encouraged by the record number of 2,624 new jobs expected to be created by the companies, which represents a 73 per cent increase over the figure a year ago.
"It is encouraging to see that the number of companies assisted by InvestHK continues to rise and that these Mainland and overseas companies are creating a growing number of new jobs in Hong Kong. As Asia continues to be a magnet for multinationals as well as individual founders and entrepreneurs, we are confident that we will be able to meet our annual target of assisting 370 companies this year," Dr Galpin said.
2015 Interim Results: Highlights
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The 260 companies came from 32 economies. Mainland China was the largest source with a total of 52 companies, followed by the US (36), the UK (26), Japan (20) and France (16). Other economies also made it to the top 10 list of origins, including Switzerland at eighth place (nine companies) as well as Canada and Taiwan at ninth place (eight each).
In terms of jobs created within the first year of setting up or expansion, the companies planned to employ 2,624 people in Hong Kong, compared to 1,513 people during the same period last year.
By region, Europe saw an increase of 23 percent with 97 companies assisted during the period, compared to 79 companies a year ago. It takes Europe head to head with Asia-Pacific including Mainland China in terms of the number of companies assisted. North America reported growth of 38 per cent with 44 companies assisted compared to 32 companies a year ago.
In terms of start-ups, InvestHK assisted 54 founders and entrepreneurs to set up businesses in Hong Kong for the first six months of 2015, compared to 39 start-ups over a year ago. The start-ups assisted by InvestHK during the period came mainly from the US and France (eight companies each) as well as the UK (seven), including those in the Internet of things and financial technology industries.
Looking Forward
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Dr Galpin said, "As Hong Kong is reinforcing its role as the 'super-connector' between Mainland China and the rest of the world, Mainland companies will continue to use Hong Kong to 'go global' while overseas companies will use Hong Kong to manage their global activities."
He noted that Hong Kong's start-up ecosystem continues to develop with an increasing number of co-work spaces and a range of accelerators helping founders to launch their businesses globally from Hong Kong.
About InvestHK
InvestHK is the department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government established in July 2000 to attract foreign direct investment and support overseas and Mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong. It provides free advice and customised services to help businesses succeed in Hong Kong's vibrant economy. As at June 2015, InvestHK had assisted over 3,700 companies which have created more than 40,200 new jobs in the first year of operation or expansion and over HK$99 billion of investment. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.
For event photos, please visit www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/sets/72157655111626128.
Ends/Thursday, July 9, 2015
Issued at HKT 15:05
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