The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (Brussels ETO), Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and the Netherlands Hong Kong Business Association (NHKBA) co-hosted a webinar entitled "Your Purchase Centre in Hong Kong" on September 16 (Brussels time) to promote the role of Hong Kong as a global sourcing hub. 

     At her opening remarks delivered at the webinar, the Deputy Representative of the Brussels ETO, Miss Fiona Chau, highlighted that Hong Kong's strategic location at the heart of Asia, its world-class transportation infrastructure and highly efficient logistics network, as well as its highly competitive business environment, are fundamental strengths of Hong Kong as a premier sourcing hub. She added that Hong Kong, as a separate customs territory, has signed free trade agreements as well as investment promotion and protection agreements with various economies in order to open more markets and remove market impediments, thereby further strengthening Hong Kong's status as an investment, financial and logistics hub in the region.

     Miss Chau also gave an update on the latest epidemic situation in Hong Kong. She pointed out that although the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a serious and unprecedented blow to the global economy, the financial system of Hong Kong has continued to function well and has demonstrated a high degree of resilience. The epidemic also highlights the importance of developing and promoting technology applications. To prepare for the economic development and business transformation under the "new normal" amid COVID-19, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has launched the Distance Business Programme to provide funding support for enterprises to speed up the application of technology in their operations. She concluded that Hong Kong's strong fundamentals, the resilience of its society to cope with new challenges as well as the city's forward-looking attitude to grasp fresh opportunities will help Hong Kong bounce back soon. 

     Other speakers of the webinar included the Senior Exhibitions Manager, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Mr Byron Lee; the Head of Consumer Products at InvestHK, Ms Angelica Leung; the Chairman of the NHKBA, Mr Hans Poulis; and two business representatives from logistics and related sectors.

Ends/Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Issued at HKT 23:00

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