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The Principal Representative of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office with coverage of Korea and Japan, Mrs Jennie Chok, today (December 14) updated an audience of more than 200 people from Seoul political, business and media circles on Hong Kong's economy and the expanding scope of business opportunities for foreign investors that are available in Hong Kong.
Mrs Chok was speaking at a luncheon seminar on "Hong Kong - New Opportunities; New Attractions" organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office.
Mrs Chok said that South Korea was a close and important economic partner to Hong Kong.
"The bilateral trade of goods and services amounted to around US$19.4 billion in 2005, representing a healthy annual growth of 11.8% from 2001 to 2005," she said.
With such well established relations between the two economies, Mrs Chok said that the basis was clearly there for the development of even closer ties that were mutually beneficial.
On Hong Kong's economy, Mrs Chok told the Seoul audience that after more than five years of deflation that ended in mid-2004, Hong Kong now enjoyed sustained and broad-based recovery, with GDP growing by 7.3% in 2005 and 6.8% in the first three-quarters of this year.
She added that, backed by healthy growth in domestic demand as well as exports of goods and services, Hong Kong's GDP was forecast to grow by 6.5% in 2006.
"Foreign investment has been particularly strong, with inflow of FDI to Hong Kong in 2005 amounting to nearly US$35.9 billion.
"The number of companies that have set up regional headquarters or regional offices in Hong Kong also reached an all-time high in 2005," Mrs Chok said.
There are more than 3,840 companies from all over the world, including around 80 enterprises from South Korea, that have either regional headquarters or regional offices in Hong Kong.
The increasing economic integration with Mainland China and the latter's spectacular economic growth have opened up immense business opportunities for foreign investors.
"The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) is one of the most important initiatives that will bring Hong Kong's economic and trade relationship with the Mainland to new heights," Mrs Chok said.
Under CEPA, all products of Hong Kong origin now enjoy tariff-free access to the Mainland Chinese market; and Hong Kong service suppliers in 27 service areas, including retail/distribution, logistics, construction, and audio-visual, etc., enjoy preferential treatment in the Mainland market.
Mrs Chok stressed that foreign companies setting up production or based in Hong Kong could also benefit from CEPA.
On financial services, she remarked that Hong Kong, both as the capital market gateway to the Mainland and the premier capital formation centre for Mainland enterprises, was offering yet more opportunities to its investors.
Moreover, Hong Kong had introduced a number of measures to enhance its attraction as an international financial centre. These included abolition of estate duty and the exemption of offshore funds from profits tax.
Mrs Chok said the horizon of business opportunities in Hong Kong was still expanding, as Mainland China has emerged as one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world and a huge source of tourism for Hong Kong.
At the luncheon seminar, Representative of Seoul Office, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Mr Chris Maeng, and Regional Director, North Asia of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Mr Ken Kano, also spoke respectively on specific partnership opportunities open to Korean companies and the latest tourist attractions and tourism campaigns in Hong Kong.
Ends/Thursday, December 14, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:08
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