LCQ2: Efforts to attract investment
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Question:
The Global Investment Promotion Conference for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Conference), jointly hosted by the governments of Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao in Guangzhou last year, has become as an effective channel and important platform for cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to collaborate in investment attraction efforts. It has been reported that the Conference achieved remarkable results last year, drawing the participation of over 430 representatives from Fortune Global 500 companies and top-notch enterprises in the industries, with total investment commitments amounting to RMB2.26 trillion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as it is reported that the Conference will be held annually as a regular event on November 8, of the city which will host the Conference this year; whether an estimate is made on the number of foreign and Hong Kong enterprises to be invited; how the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will assist Hong Kong enterprises in securing new investment and trade projects;
(2) among the 1 933 investment projects reportedly signed at last year's Conference, of those involving the participation of Hong Kong;
(3) given that Invest Hong Kong and its Mainland counterpart have established the Pan-Greater Bay Area Inward Investment Liaison Group, of the number of promotional and other investment attraction activities organised by the Group over the past year; and
(4) whether it will consider organising overseas (such as in the Middle East and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries) investment attraction activities in collaboration with other Mainland cities in the GBA?
Reply:
President,
Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) has all along been proactively working with various policy bureaux to promote business-friendly policies in its investment promotion work, including working with the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (CMAB) on initiatives relating to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) development. In addition, InvestHK collaborates with organisations, chambers of commerce and professional bodies, etc, to organise and sponsor an array of investment promotion activities on the Mainland and overseas, including roadshows, seminars and roundtables, to provide enterprises with the latest information on Hong Kong's business environment, including our core advantages under the "one country, two systems" principle and opportunities arising from key national strategies such as the GBA development, thereby attracting and encouraging enterprises to set up or expand their businesses in Hong Kong.
After consulting the CMAB, my consolidated response to Dr the Hon So Cheung-wing's question is as follows:
With the support of the CMAB, the Pan-Greater Bay Area Inward Investment Liaison Group (Liaison Group) was established in 2021 by InvestHK and relevant GBA counterparts. Through developing joint propositions and promotion materials as well as organising joint events, the Liaison Group enhances collaboration and synergy among members of the Liaison Group. Since 2022, the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have been jointly organising annually the Global Investment Promotion Conference for the GBA (Conference) in Guangzhou to showcase to global strategic enterprises the latest developments and investment potential of the GBA. The 2025 Conference will be held in Guangzhou on November 3, with participation by around 400 representatives from multinational and Hong Kong enterprises. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to proactively promote Hong Kong's business advantages at the Conference to attract more investment projects to land in Hong Kong.
At the past Conferences, InvestHK engaged with many Mainland and overseas enterprises which were interested in setting up or expanding their businesses in Hong Kong and provided them with one-stop customised support services based on their needs, fully leveraging Hong Kong's unique advantages as a two-way springboard. Last year, over 1 900 investment projects were signed during the Conference. The Liaison Group, with InvestHK being one of its members, is proactively following up and assisting in the implementation of these projects. From 2024 to August this year, InvestHK assisted 983 Mainland and overseas companies in setting up or expanding their businesses in Hong Kong, including 492 overseas companies and over 120 Mainland companies from GBA cities.
Apart from organising the Conference, the Liaison Group also hosts overseas investment promotion events annually to promote to local businesses the latest policies and development opportunities in the GBA. In 2023 and 2024, the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao jointly hosted the economic and trade co-operation conferences in Munich, Germany, and Paris, France, to promote the GBA's investment environment and development opportunities to European enterprises. This year, the governments of the three regions again jointly held investment promotion events in Budapest, Hungary, and Cairo, Egypt, to promote to the European and African business communities the business opportunities brought by the GBA development, as well as Hong Kong's unique roles and functions as a "super connector" and a "super value-adder" under the "one country, two systems" principle. The events also encouraged businesses to establish presence in Hong Kong and tap into the vast market of the GBA.
In addition, InvestHK has been organising investment promotion activities in various Mainland cities to proactively introduce Hong Kong's business advantages and opportunities to Mainland enterprises, so as to encourage them to invest in Hong Kong and expand international businesses via the city. In 2025, the department organised multiple promotional activities in Ningbo, Jinan, Wuhan, Qingdao, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Beijing, Tianjin and Shenyang, etc.
Looking ahead, InvestHK will continue to work with the CMAB and maintain close liaison with members of the Liaison Group to jointly take forward the investment promotion efforts related to the GBA. On the one hand, InvestHK will promote Hong Kong as a springboard for overseas businesses looking to expand into the GBA and support them to set up their operations here. On the other hand, we will also promote Hong Kong to GBA enterprises as a launchpad for going global and assist them in establishing presence in Hong Kong. The efforts will be organically integrated into the work of the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global announced by the Chief Executive in his 2025 Policy Address, thereby enhancing two-way investment (viz. attracting investment inflows to Hong Kong and facilitating further investment beyond Hong Kong). Besides, the Liaison Group will also continue to proactively plan promotional and investment activities in other potential emerging markets to further highlight Hong Kong's roles as a "super connector" and a "super value-adder".
Ends/Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Issued at HKT 15:35
Issued at HKT 15:35
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