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As part of China but with its own institutions, long history of international trade and a business-friendly environment, Hong Kong is the key for German companies to enter the vast Chinese market, said the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (HKETO Berlin), Mr Ivan Lee, at a seminar on Hong Kong at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce on April 24 (Berlin time).
At the invitation of the Hamburg China Association, Mr Lee briefed more than 40 guests from Hamburg's business community about the benefits that Hong Kong had to offer to German companies to tap the potential of the huge Chinese market at the seminar supported by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and the German Asia-Pacific Business Association. "Hong Kong is a vibrant city at the heart of the Pearl River Delta", he said. "It is not only the gateway to China, but also a melting pot of cultures with a high quality of life."
It is therefore no surprise that Hong Kong has been very successful in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). "Hong Kong's inward direct investment stock ratio to GDP increased from 269 per cent in 2000 to 458 per cent in 2011, with 19 per cent of the city¡¯s total workforce currently employed by majority-owned FDI companies," said Mr Lee. During the last two decades, the number of overseas companies with regional headquarters or regional offices in Hong Kong has quadrupled. It now stands at close to 3,900, easily the highest in Asia.
Apart from the stable pro-business environment, Mr Lee also mentioned the rule of law and the independent jurisdiction as some of Hong Kong's outstanding advantages. The city had been developing into Asia's regional centre for legal services and dispute resolution. "In 2011 alone, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre handled around 500 cases of arbitration, with the majority of them being international arbitration", Mr Lee outlined.
Mr Lee also highlighted the efforts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to further improve the environment. Forty per cent of Hong Kong's land area is covered by country parks. On March 28, the Environment Bureau unveiled "A Clean Air Plan for Hong Kong" to outline the challenges Hong Kong is facing with regard to air quality as well as relevant policies, measures and plans to tackle the issue. "The Government follows a multi-pronged approach to attain the goal of cleaner air and a healthier living environment for the public with focus on improvement of roadside air quality and reduction of marine and power plant emissions." Mr Lee added, "All these measures will help achieve the new Air Quality Objectives largely by 2020, and will present opportunities for further collaboration between Germany and Hong Kong in the environmental technology sector."
Ends/Friday, April 26, 2013
Issued at HKT 00:34
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