Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and Jiangsu Provincial Government co-hosted a seminar in Nantong, Jiangsu Province today (November 7), encouraging Jiangsu enterprises to make use of Hong Kong's business advantages and opportunities amid the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) development to accelerate their overseas expansion.    

Entitled "Seminar on Hong Kong - Jiangsu Co-operation: Leveraging Hong Kong for Overseas Business Opportunities", the event was organised by InvestHK, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Shanghai (SHETO) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Commercial Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (LOCPG) in the HKSAR, the Department of Commerce of Jiangsu Province, and the People's Government of Nantong Municipality.        

The seminar began with welcoming remarks by the Acting Director-General of Investment Promotion, Dr Jimmy Chiang; the Acting Head of the Commercial Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the LOCPG in the HKSAR, Ms Chen Jiarong; and Vice Mayor of the People's Government of Nantong Municipality Ms Li Ling.  

Dr Chiang said, "Under 'one country, two systems', Hong Kong continues to integrate into the overall development of the country, by reinforcing its traditional status as an international financial, transportation and trade centre, as well as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region. The city is also moving full steam to develop its new positioning in the emerging centres, namely international aviation hub, international innovation and technology (I&T) hub, regional intellectual property trading centre, and East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. Jiangsu enterprises can make good use of Hong Kong's professional services, as well as its advantages in I&T, intellectual property, aviation and culture and art fields, to promote innovative development of foreign trade, as well as enhancing and expanding in international markets." He expressed his hope that the seminar can help Mainland enterprises understand Hong Kong's unique advantages and opportunities as well as the city's role as a bridge between the Mainland and the world, assisting Jiangsu enterprises to go global and attracting foreign investment to Jiangsu.

Ms Chen said, "Hong Kong has been the largest source of foreign direct investment in Nantong and its largest investment destination. Some Nantong enterprises have already expanded into the global market successfully via Hong Kong. Taking the opportunity from the HKSAR Government's newly released policy address, we believe that the co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong will be much wider, especially in the areas of innovative technology, financial and professional services, and overseas market expansion. Jiangsu and Hong Kong can further deepen their co-operation, promoting complementarity and mutual benefits to achieve the overall development of the two places. As the representative of the Ministry of Commerce in Hong Kong responsible for the economic and trade co-operation between the two places, the Commercial Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the LOCPG in the HKSAR is willing to provide support and services for all Jiangsu enterprises, including Nantong enterprises, as well as all the Mainland enterprises, to invest in Hong Kong and expand to overseas markets via the city."

Representing the People's Government of Nantong Municipality, Ms Li told the audience that Nantong will continue to deepen the economic and trade co-operation with Hong Kong and encourage local enterprises to use Hong Kong as a platform to go global.

The Head of Business and Talent Attraction/Investment Promotion of InvestHK in Shanghai, Mr Arthur Lam, introduced Hong Kong's business environment at his presentation and the diverse services InvestHK offers to Mainland clients. The Chief Immigration Officer of the SHETO, Mr Ma Man-tak, also provided a briefing on Hong Kong's latest immigration schemes and services for Mainland residents.

The Head of Mainland and GBA Business Development of InvestHK, Ms Loretta Lee, hosted a panel discussion on Jiangsu-Hong Kong economic and trade collaboration at the seminar with speakers including Senior Manager of Business Development of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) Mr Matt Hu; Deputy Director of Smart City, Integrated Circuits and Systems of Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Mr Henry Cao; Partner of Huagai TMT Investment Management (Beijing) Co Ltd Mr Kevin Chow; and Assistant Vice President of Global Issuer Services, Sales & Marketing and Equities of  the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Mr Terry Sun. They discussed how the HKSTP can assist mainland companies to start their I&T journey in Hong Kong, how to make use of Hong Kong as a bridge to align with international practices in science and technology research, how to attract private equity funds, as well as the advantages of listing in Hong Kong for Mainland companies. Two representatives from Jiangsu enterprises, namely the CEO of XCMG Treasury Management (Hong Kong) Ltd, Mr Gu Shiying, and the Chairman of Jiangsu Hefu Food and Beverage Management Co Ltd, Mr Li Xuelin, shared experience in expanding their business in Hong Kong at the seminar.