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Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel and Hong Kong's chief official representative in Canada Ms Maureen Siu today (February 26, Edmonton time) jointly launched the publicity for the 2008 National Canada-Hong Kong Business Forum at a City Hall press conference. The forum will help Canadian business, especially companies in Western Canada, to chart their China business strategy.
Spearheaded by the Edmonton section of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (HKCBA) and supported by the HKCBA's other chapters in Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax, this year's national forum builds on the success of the first three events - in Ottawa in 2005, Winnipeg in 2006 and Toronto in 2007. The Edmonton forum will be held at the Shaw Conference Centre, on Monday, June 2. It is expected that over 300 delegates from across Canada, including the HKCBA's representatives in Regina, London (Ontario) and Hong Kong will attend this major annual business event.
"We are pleased that the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association has chosen to hold its annual business forum in Edmonton," said Mayor Stephen Mandel. "There is great potential in our city to build on our existing relationships and growing Chinese-Canadian community to increase business and investment relationships. I know many Edmontonians will take advantage to learn more about opportunities in China, including how Hong Kong can be used as a gateway to the broader Chinese market."
The newly-appointed Director of the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (HKETO) in Canada, Ms Maureen Siu, said the HKETO fully supports the HKCBA forum in Edmonton. "The forum provides a good opportunity for Canadian business to be further acquainted with the latest developments in China and how they could participate in the booming China market through a very user-friendly platform - Hong Kong."
She emphasised "Hong Kong is not only the gateway for Canadian companies to do business with China, it is also a platform for Mainland companies to go overseas."
President of HKCBA Edmonton section, Mr Frankie Lee, said that these special national annual events aim to encourage Canadian business -particularly small and medium-sized enterprises - to take the initiative to expand their business activities by taking advantage of the exciting opportunities available in the rapidly growing China marketplace, and by using Hong Kong as their business platform to other parts of China and South East Asia.
HKCBA National Governor and former head of the Edmonton section, Mr John Mah, said, "Edmonton is Alberta's capital city and gateway to the Canadian North. Hong Kong, on the other hand, is the gateway to China Mainland. There are tremendous opportunities for collaboration between the two gateways."
With the theme - Your Smart Link in China: Hong Kong - the June forum will cover topics such as:
* How other Canadian companies have done it correctly and successfully
* The global value chain and low cost country sourcing
* How to allay fears of China trade and manage the risks
* How to take advantage of the Hong Kong business platform to fast track your effort
* How to deal with IPR (Intellectual Property Rights Protection) and export financing issues
"The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is delighted to support this important initiative and we look forward to working more closely with all the partners in developing the Canada-Hong Kong-China business momentum," said Director, Canada, HKTDC, Andrew Yui.
The national forum in Edmonton is also supported by Invest Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Federation of Hong Kong Business Associations Worldwide and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
Forum partners include the Canada China Business Council, I E Canada Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters, and Supply Chain Logistics Association of Canada, etc.
Supporting partners include Cathay Pacific Airways, the Government of Alberta, HSBC Bank Canada, Quam Limited, retail CHINA limited, Business Development Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, and WestJet Airlines.
Media sponsors include the Canadian Business Magazine. The hotel sponsor is The Sutton Place Hotel, Edmonton. The design sponsor is Era Integrated.
On the Sunday evening before the forum, HKCBA Edmonton will be hosting its annual popular "A Touch of Hong Kong" gala dinner at The Sutton Place Hotel, Edmonton.
For registration and further information, please visit: www.hkcba.com/canhkforum or contact:
Shirley Kwan HKCBA (Edmonton): 780-970-7964 (syckwan@shaw.ca)
Robert Brown HKCBA (National): 416-366-2642 (canhkforum08@hkcba.com)
Ends/Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:38
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