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Hong Kong and Dongguan jointly organised a seminar in Copenhagen, Denmark, today (April 25, Copenhagen time) to promote inward investment from Denmark. An overwhelming response was received from 250 senior business executives who were keen to find out about the latest developments and opportunities in Hong Kong and Dongguan.
The seminar, themed "Hong Kong and Dongguan: Partners for Your China Strategy," was the seventh joint initiative overseas by the two cities to promote investment opportunities in the Greater Pearl River Delta (GPRD).
The seminar was jointly organised by Invest Hong Kong and the Dongguan Municipal People's Government. It was co-organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. It was also supported by a number of major local organisations in Denmark.
The one-day programme began with introductory remarks by the CEO and Chief editor of Dagbladet Brsen A/S, Mr Leif Beck Fallesen.
The Mayor of the Culture and Leisure Administration ¡ª City of Copenhagen, Mr Martin Geertsen; Counsellor of the Economic and Commercial Counseller's Office, Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Ms Qiu Guangling; and the Special Representative to the European Community, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels, Mr Duncan Pescod, also spoke to welcome the delegates and guests participating in the seminar.
The Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Mike Rowse, and the Deputy Mayor of Dongguan Municipal People's Government, Mr Zhang Shunguang, led the Hong Kong and Dongguan delegations. They encouraged Danish enterprises to explore the potential in the GPRD region by investing in both Hong Kong and Dongguan.
In his keynote speech, Mr Rowse presented the advantages of Hong Kong as a springboard for doing business in China. He also introduced the expanded opportunities brought about by the free trade agreement between Mainland China and Hong Kong, the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA).
"Hong Kong is blessed with an invaluable natural resource ¡ª its geographical location. The city is the preferred base for foreign investors looking to access the Mainland market. And there is nowhere better than Hong Kong to obtain the expertise, information and facilities needed to take advantage of the immense Mainland Chinese market," he said.
"Hong Kong and Dongguan together form a winning combination for Danish companies that want to expand to China. The cities play complementary roles. Companies may benefit from establishing a business presence in the world-class financial, logistics and service centre in Hong Kong, and locate their manufacturing plant in Dongguan which offers first-rate and cost-effective production capabilities."
At the seminar, Mr Zhang, said Dongguan was one of the regions with most overseas investment and most dynamic economy in China. "Due to the strong complementary advantages between Europe, especially North Europe and Dongguan, their trade and business collaboration has greatly enhanced and the scale of cooperation has continuously expanded in recent years. Therefore we sincerely hope the seminar could be a new beginning to further strengthen our co-operation by giving full play to the combined advantages of Hong Kong and Dongguan, so as to attract more European enterprises to invest in Dongguan.
"The Dongguan government will continue to improve the city's investment environment by expanding the investment in the fields of science and technology, education, public facilities, environment protection, etc and further cultivating and attracting more professional talents of all kinds, in order to provide a more convenient, comfortable and harmonious living and business environment for overseas enterprises."
Managing Director at Maersk Container Industri Dongguan Ltd, Mr Bjarne K Nielsen, also shared the company's experience in tapping the advantages of investing in both Hong Kong and Dongguan at the seminar.
Solicitor and partner at Bech-Buun Law firm, Mr Ian Tokley; and the Regional Director, Western Europe of Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Mr Lawrence Yipp, gave practical advice on doing business in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
The programme continued with a consultation and networking session in the afternoon. Consultants from Invest Hong Kong and Dongguan Municipal People's Government provided free on-site advice to companies with keen interests to invest in the GRPD.
"The favourable response from the Danish business community is very encouraging for our investment promotion efforts in Northern Europe. Our department will actively follow up with the companies and facilitate their future investment in our region. We look forward to future joint overseas promotions with Dongguan to attract more overseas investors to the Greater Pearl River Delta region," Mr Rowse said.
Ends/Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Issued at HKT 18:07
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