| Foreign investment projects are a boon to economy
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| Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang (middle), Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau (right) and Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong Simon Galpin (left) propose a toast at the June 22 annual reception for new foreign, Mainland and Taiwanese enterprises. |
Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang hosted a cocktail reception on June 22 to thank the foreign investors whose presence in Hong Kong is a testimony to the city’s position as Asia’s international business and finance center. The reception, attended by approximately 300 top executives, is an annual event to welcome overseas, Mainland and Taiwanese companies that have set up or expanded in Hong Kong during the past year.
“Hong Kong’s economy expanded at its fastest pace in four years in the first quarter of 2010, with GDP growing 8.2% year-on-year,” Mr. Tsang said. “It was the fourth consecutive quarterly rise and above economists' expectations. This positive news is being reflected at Invest Hong Kong, where the department continues to exceed its previous years’ targets for completed investment projects. This year it is again on track to beat its target of 270 projects.
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| (From left) President of Beijing Genomics Institute Wang Jian, National Bank of Abu Dhabi Hong Kong Regional Manager Ernest Law, Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong Simon Galpin, Vice President of Savannah College of Art and Design John Rowan and Suning Appliance Assistant to President and Suning Citicall Appliance General Manager Gary Gong meet with the media. |
“Hong Kong stands to benefit from the flow of investment, which shifted towards Asia,” added the Chief Executive. “This shift has been magnified by the credit crunch and the global financial crisis. We are committed to capitalizing on this and enhancing our overall competitiveness through a raft of initiatives. These include the growing network of double taxation agreements, the Renminbi Trade Settlement Scheme and the development of six new growth industries where Hong Kong has clear advantages.”
Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong Simon Galpin said, “While celebrating our 10th anniversary this year, it is very encouraging to see that we have already assisted 178 foreign companies to set up or expand their operations in the city in the first half of 2010.”
Mr. Galpin thanked the past year’s investors for creating 1,980 job opportunities within the first year of their operation or expansion in Hong Kong. (Note: Job opportunity number according to information supplied by individual companies.)
Since the establishment of Invest Hong Kong in July 2000, more than $6.6 billion has been invested and 2,000 investment projects have been completed, creating more than 25,000 jobs in the first year of operation or expansion.
“In terms of geographical distribution, in the first half of 2010 the number of completed investment projects from Asia Pacific accounted for 39 percent, those from Europe for 31 percent and North America 24 percent. To support future potential growth from BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] markets, we have hired additional consultants in India and Russia,” added Mr. Galpin.
Prior to the reception, four senior executives from companies that Invest Hong Kong has assisted met the media to share their insights on investment opportunities in Hong Kong: Beijing Genomics Institute President Wang Jian, National Bank of Abu Dhabi Hong Kong Regional Manager Ernest Law, Savannah College of Art and Design Vice President John Rowan and Gary Gong, assistant to the president of Suning Appliance and general manager of Suning Citicall Appliance.
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Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)
Founded in 1999, BGI is actively involved in international human genome research projects. The company has more than 1,300 full-time staff working in its Beijing and Shenzhen facilities. The Hong Kong office will become its international department, handling the rapidly growing overseas markets and operations, including research and development, marketing and financing. Hong Kong was chosen over other Asian countries because of the city's international reputation, advanced commercial systems and industrial processes, as well as vigorous intellectual property protection. The Hong Kong facility will use the latest Next Generation Sequencing Technology and a supercomputer platform to grow into one of the world's biggest genomic centers and bring in more international projects and collaborations.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi
Founded in 1968 and listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi is one of the largest banks in the United Arab Emirates. The bank is the first Arab facility to acquire a full banking license in Hong Kong and recently launched its debut city branch, heralding the beginning of its Asia operations. The bank chose Hong Kong as its future regional headquarters because it provides easy access to mainland China and the rest of Asia. The Hong Kong branch will provide wholesale banking services to support its Arab clients' ambitions in Asia and its Asian clients’ ambitions in the Middle East. Its commercial and corporate banking services include trade finance, treasury, correspondent banking and selective personal banking services.
Savannah College of Art and Design
The Savannah College of Art and Design is a renowned art, design and digital media university founded in the United States in 1978. Its first Asian campus will open in Hong Kong this autumn at the former North Kowloon Magistracy Building in Sham Shui Po. The college secured this historic site with its conservation record and academic excellence. This brings its number of global campuses to four, having already established facilities in Savannah, Ga., Atlanta and Lacoste, France. Courses offered in Hong Kong will cover advertising, animation, graphic design, illustration, interactive design and game development, motion media design, photography and visual effects.
Suning Appliance
Suning Appliance is China's largest electrical retailer, with more than 1,000 stores in 300 cities. The company was founded in 1990, when Zhang Jindong opened a small store in Nanjing selling air conditioners. Suning employs more than 100,000 people and was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in July 2004. In 2009, Suning entered Hong Kong by acquiring Citicall for US$27.56 million. The company plans to make Suning a household brand in Hong Kong and to expand its Hong Kong office’s role to cover trading and sourcing. |
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