Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (HKETO), Ms Emily Mo, spoke at two webinars on June 29 to promote opportunities for companies in Canada to advance their business plan in Hong Kong and through Hong Kong to the Mainland China and Asian markets. The first webinar entitled “Canada-Asia Trade Opportunities” was organised by the M&A Club Toronto and the second one titled “Opportunities in the ICT Sector in Hong Kong and Asia for Canadian Companies” was jointly hosted by the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (HKCBA) (Vancouver Section), Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in Canada, HKETO and others.
In delivering the welcome remarks in both events, Ms Mo introduced the unique advantages of doing business in Hong Kong, and highlighted the city’s centrality of location, low and friendly tax system and rule of law, etc. There are at present around 200 Canadian-origin companies in Hong Kong, benefitting from these unique advantages.
Ms Mo also updated participants on the latest innovation and technology (I&T) scene in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government’s effort in developing the city into an international I&T hub in recent years. “In the past four years, the HKSAR Government has committed over C$18 billion (some HK$110 billion) for a wide range of I&T programmes, covering research and development funding, venture capital, facility development, talent nurturing, attraction and retention, etc.”, Ms Mo said.
Ms Mo quoted Hong Kong’s recent achievements in terms of business rankings. “Hong Kong was ranked the third largest destination for foreign direct investment in 2020 gobally. The city also climbed from the 11th place in 2018 to the fifth place globally in the World Digital Competitiveness Yearbook 2020. According to the Digital Intelligence Index report in 2020, Hong Kong has become one of the world’s most digitally advanced economies, ranking second and third in the Asia-Pacific region and the world respectively,” Ms Mo said.
Besides, Ms Mo pointed out that Hong Kong has become the world’s second largest fundraising hub for biotechnology companies. Since mid-2018, these companies have a combined market capitalisation of over 1.5 trillion USD, accounting for about a quarter of the current total market capitalisation in Hong Kong.
Indeed, Hong Kong is an ideal platform for Canadian companies to expand their business to Mainland China or the Asia Pacific Region. “Thanks to the country’s National 14th Five-Year Plan and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development, there will be ample exciting business opportunities in Hong Kong,” Ms Mo added.
Before closing, Ms Mo invited Canadian companies to make use of the Hong Kong platform to seize the vast opportunities in the Mainland China and Asian markets, and reach out to HKETO for more information on investing in Hong Kong.
香港經貿處處長參與網上研討會推介香港的商機
香港駐多倫多經濟貿易辦事處（香港經貿處）處長巫菀菁於六月二十九日出席兩個網上研討會，向加拿大公司推介在香港擴展業務或透過香港進軍中國內地和亞洲市場的商機。首個研討會由多倫多M&A Club主辦，題為「加拿大-亞洲的貿易商機」。另一個研討會題為「加拿大公司在香港及亞洲資訊及通訊科技行業的機遇」，由港加商會（溫哥華分會）、香港貿易發展局（香港貿發局）加拿大辦事處、香港經貿處，及其他機構合辦。
巫菀菁在兩個研討會上致歡迎辭時介紹香港的獨特營商優勢，強調香港擁有優越地理位置、簡單低稅制及擁護法治等。現時約有200家來自加拿大的公司在香港設立辦公室並受惠這些獨特優勢。
巫菀菁同時向與會者介紹香港的資訊及通訊科技業的最新情況，並指出近年香港特別行政區（香港特區）政府致力將香港發展成為國際資訊科技樞紐。巫菀菁表示：「在過去四年，香港特區政府撥款逾180億加元（約1100億港元）資助一系列資訊及科技項目，涵蓋範圍包括科研資助、風險投資、設施發展、培訓、吸引和挽留人才等。」
巫菀菁引述香港最近在商貿排名方面的成就。她說：「香港是二○二○年全球第三大的外來直接投資目的地，並且在《2020年世界數碼競爭力年報》中，從二○一八年全球排名第十一位，躍升至二○二○年全球的第五位。而在二○二○年發布的『數碼智能指數』報告中，香港亦分別於亞太區及全球排名第二及第三，位列全球最先進數碼經濟體之一。」
此外，巫菀菁指出，香港是全球第二大生物科技公司的融資中心。自二○一八年中，這些公司的總市值超過1.5萬億美元，佔香港現時總市值約四分之一。
香港毫無疑問是加拿大企業發展業務至中國內地或亞太地區的理想平台。巫菀菁補充說：「中央政府在《十四五規劃綱要》及《粵港澳大灣區發展規劃》中均展示對香港的支持，這為香港帶來龐大的發展商機。」
最後，巫菀菁邀請加拿大公司善用香港平台，把握中國內地及亞洲市場的機遇。她亦鼓勵加拿大企業向香港經貿處查詢有關投資香港的事宜。
