Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (HKETO), Ms Emily Mo, joined the 2nd “Hong Kong-Markham Tech Exchange” hybrid event hosted by the HKETO, the City of Markham, Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) (Canada) and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong on May 10, drawing more than 100 participants from Hong Kong and Canada.
This event aims to create a platform for exchange of ideas and bringing together innovative and technology (I&T) companies and forward-looking entrepreneurs to share insights on the emerging technological developments in the green battery energy sector and successful global expansion strategies between the cities of Hong Kong and Markham.
In delivering welcome remarks, Ms Mo noted that Hong Kong and Markham share a rich history of cultural exchange and economic cooperation. “The two places share talents, energy and entrepreneurial spirit,” Ms Mo said. “Many companies in Hong Kong and Markham have already set up operation in both cities to achieve global expansion.” Looking forward, with all the new developments in Markham, including the opening of York University’s new campus nurturing more I&T talents and enterprises, the bond between Markham and Hong Kong will grow stronger.
Ms Mo said that under the “one country, two systems” principle, Hong Kong maintains its own immigration, trade and legal systems and share many of the values with Canada such as the rule of law, strong intellectual property protection, international professional services and talents, etc. “Something that Hong Kong cannot be beat also include our low and simple tax rate and access to the mainland China, including the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and other parts of Asia,” Ms Mo added.
For entrepreneurs, Hong Kong provides capital from around the world for local and foreign companies registered in Hong Kong. “The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been launching new schemes to allow easy flow of capital and talent from Mainland China to Hong Kong which has become the world’s leading fundraising hub for biotechnology companies,” Ms Mo said.
“Another close Canada-Hong Kong connection is our common goal to develop green economy,” Ms Mo continued. “Hong Kong becomes Asia’s first in green financing. While Canadian government sets a key priority on green economy in its latest Budget, Canadian companies thriving in this area may also look for funding and scale-up opportunities in Hong Kong.”
Following Ms Mo’s remarks, Head of InvestHK Canada, Mr Christopher Chen, discussed with industry leaders about Hong Kong’s I&T developments, and how Hong Kong can support I&T entrepreneurs to explore the business opportunities there. Other speakers also shared their first-hand experience in exchanging between Markham and Hong Kong.
香港經貿處處長參與「香港—萬錦科技交流研討會」推廣創新科技
香港駐多倫多經濟貿易辦事處（香港經貿處）處長巫菀菁於五月十日參與由香港經貿處、萬錦市政府、香港投資推廣署加拿大辦事處及香港加拿大商會合辦的「香港—萬錦科技交流研討會」，活動於線上、線下同步進行，香港及加拿大兩地逾百人參與。
活動旨在提供交流平台，讓新興創科公司與具遠見的企業家就綠色電池能源工業等新興科技發展分享見解，並交流香港和萬錦市的成功環球擴展策略。
巫菀菁致歡迎辭時表示，香港和萬錦市的文化交流和經濟合作歷史悠久。她說：「兩地以企業家精神共享人才和資源，許多公司在香港和萬錦市均有業務，並由此將業務向全球擴展。」萬錦市最近有不少新發展，例如約克大學的新校園開幕，以培育更多創科人才和企業。展望未來，萬錦市與香港的連繫將更趨緊密。
巫菀菁指，在「一國兩制」的原則下，香港繼續實施其原有的出入境、貿易和法律制度，並與加拿大持守包括法治、保障知識產權、促進國際專業服務和人才交流等相同價值。她補充指：「香港無懈可擊的優勢還在於其簡單低稅制，且毗連中國內地，聯通粵港澳大灣區和亞洲其他地區，有利企業拓展業務。」
對企業家而言，巫菀菁表示，香港為在當地註冊的本地及外地公司提供來自全球的資金，她說：「香港特別行政區政府正陸續推出新計劃，方便中國內地的資金和人才匯聚香港，香港將能繼續發揮領先全球的集資樞紐角色，為生物科技公司籌募資金。」
巫菀菁續指：「加港兩地亦正為建立綠色經濟的共同目標而作出緊密聯繫。香港在綠色金融業領先亞洲，而加拿大政府在最新的財政預算案中亦重點關注綠色經濟，銳意在綠色金融方面發展的加拿大公司不妨考慮在香港尋找融資及發展商機。」
隨後，投資推廣署加拿大辦事處投資推廣總監陳立智與業界領袖討論香港的創科發展，以及香港如何協助創科企業家在香港發掘商機，其他講者亦就萬錦市與香港的交流，分享親身經驗。
