Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (HKETO), Ms Emily Mo, paid a visit to Winnipeg on October 18 and 19 to promote to the business community in the province of Manitoba that Hong Kong is an ideal business partner of Canadian companies to explore the Asia market and beyond.
On October 18, Ms Mo held a short meeting with the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration, Mr Jon Reyes, to brief him on the latest development of Hong Kong as well as to exchange views on how to strengthen the ties between Hong Kong and Manitoba. She also met with the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Toronto, Mr Han Tao, and update him on the work of HKETO and discussed with him on issues of mutual interests.
In the evening, Ms Mo attended and spoke at the gala dinner organised by the Manitoba Federation of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs (MFCCE) and updated the participants on the latest economic situation of Hong Kong, the advantages of doing business in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong’s role as the ideal gateway to the Mainland of China, Asia and Indo-Pacific region.
On the advantages of Hong Kong, apart from being an open and free market, the city has a favourable tax regime, easy listing process, absence of capital controls and good regulatory framework, Ms Mo highlighted that Hong Kong has once again been ranked by the Fraser Institute as the world’s freest economy. “The International Institute for Management Development's World Talent Ranking 2021 ranked Hong Kong number 1 in Asia, 11th in the world, and the World Investment Report 2021 published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development ranked Hong Kong the world’s third-largest recipient of foreign direct investment,” Ms Mo continued.
Turning to Hong Kong-Canada trade relations, Hong Kong has remained one of Canada’s top ten trading markets in the past decade. “Hong Kong continues to have a distinct relationship with Canada. According to a study on the Canada-Hong Kong economic relations released by the China Institute at the University of Alberta in January this year, the strong people-to-people ties of Canada and Hong Kong helped promote bilateral trade ties,” Ms Mo said.
In terms of being a gateway to doing business in Asia and Indo-Pacific, Ms Mo said that China’s National 14th Five-Year Plan and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development continue to support Hong Kong to enhance its status as an international financial, transportation and trade centre and strengthens Hong Kong’s roles in other areas. “The 14th Five-Year Plan raises for the first time the support for Hong Kong to enhance its status as an international aviation hub, to develop into an international innovation and technology hub and a regional intellectual property trading centre, and to develop into a hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world,” Ms Mo said.
Before closing, Ms Mo said Hong Kong has recently lifted the mandatory hotel quarantine policy for inbound travellers and she welcomed participants to visit Hong Kong to witness all the new developments themselves.
Ms Mo returned to Toronto at noon of October 19.
香港經貿處處長到訪溫尼泊進行商務推廣
香港駐多倫多經濟貿易辦事處（香港經貿處）處長巫菀菁於十月十八日至十九日到訪溫尼泊，向緬省商界推廣香港是加拿大企業開拓亞洲市場及其他地區的理想營商伙伴。
巫菀菁於十月十八日與緬省高等教育、技能及移民廳長Jon Reyes會面，向他介紹香港的最新發展，並就如何加強香港與緬省的聯繫交換意見。巫菀菁同時與中國駐多倫多總領事韓濤見面，向他簡述香港經貿處的最新動向，雙方亦就共同關心的議題進行討論。
巫菀菁在傍晚出席由緬省加中企業家協會舉辦的晚宴並致辭，她向與會者介紹香港的最新經濟情況、香港的營商優勢及香港是通往中國內地、亞洲及印度太平洋地區
的理想門戶。
在營商優勢方面，香港除了是開放自由的市場外，同時亦擁有優越的稅制和簡便的上市程序，不受資金管制的約束並有完善的監管架構。巫菀菁強調，菲沙研究所再次把香港評為全球最自由的經濟體，她續說：「在國際管理發展學院發布的《2021年世界人才競爭力報告》中，香港位居亞洲第一，全球第十一位；聯合國貿易和發展會議發表的《2021年世界投資報告》亦將香港列為全球第三大外來直接投資目的地。」
在港加貿易關係方面，香港在過去十年一直是加拿大十大貿易市場之一。巫菀菁表示：「香港會繼續與加拿大發展獨特關係。根據阿爾伯達大學中國研究所今年一月發表關於港加經濟關係的研究報告指出，加港兩地之間頻繁的人脈聯繫有助推動雙邊貿易發展。」
巫菀菁指出，香港是通往亞洲及印度太平洋地區營商的理想門戶，國家《十四五規劃綱要》及粵港澳大灣區發展繼續支持香港提升成為國際金融、運輸及貿易中心的地位，並加強香港在其他領域的角色。巫菀菁表示：「國家《十四五規劃綱要》首次提出支持香港提升其國際航空樞紐的地位，發展成為國際科創中心及區域知識產權交易中心及中外國際文化藝術交流樞紐。」
最後，巫菀菁表示，香港最近已經撤銷到港旅客的強制酒店檢疫要求，她歡迎與會者到訪香港，親身體驗香港各項最新發展。
巫菀菁於十月十九日中午返回多倫多。
