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| Wednesday, 20 September 2017, 19:00 HKT/SGT | |
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Source: HKTDC | |
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| Signature Event to Promote Hong Kong's Advantages for UK Enterprises Doing Business in Asia and China |
HONG KONG, Sept 20, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - With the global economy increasingly driven by the dynamic markets of Asia, particularly the Chinese mainland, and capitalising on Hong Kong's status as Asia's international trade and financial centre, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) brings its flagship "Think Asia, Think Hong Kong" event to London on 21 September 2017.
Supported by 16 key Hong Kong partners and more than 60 UK organisations, the event aims to attract companies to use Hong Kong as the starting point for their expansion to Asia. It will bring together business and related government communities from Hong Kong and the UK to discuss recent developments and trends and explore business opportunities.
UK and Hong Kong: long-standing, strong and growing trade links
Hong Kong's special relationship with the Chinese mainland and its long-established links with the UK have consistently made it a preferred platform for British companies seeking new business opportunities in the region. Today, the UK is Hong Kong's second-largest trading partner in Europe, as well as the fourth-largest foreign direct investment (FDI) destination and eighth-largest FDI source in the world. The UK's inward investment in Hong Kong surged 115 per cent to HK$256.4 billion (GBP 25 billion) at end-2015 compared with end-2010, before the first "Think Asia, Think Hong Kong" symposium. Additionally, Hong Kong's inward investment in the UK grew 30 per cent to HK$248.5 billion (GBP 24 billion) at end-2015 from five years earlier.
"I am delighted that we are back in the UK, where we launched our first event six years ago," said Vincent HS Lo, Chairman of the HKTDC. "Given our historic links, I believe there is great potential to broaden our collaboration in many areas. Much of this potential comes from the Belt and Road Initiative, which will need a global network of open, commercial hubs to facilitate the complex cross-border transactions required for financing and building physical infrastructure in many of the 60-plus countries involved." He added that Hong Kong and the UK are well positioned to be these hubs, with businesses from the latter looking to the huge potential offered by these prospective markets for the upcoming post-Brexit era.
The event has been designed to provide an opportunity for networking and exploring potential partnerships and strategic alliances. Chinese investors, ICT business professionals and Hong Kong service providers from various sectors including legal, accountancy, consultancy services, insurance and technology will be in the UK to connect with their British counterparts through business matching meetings.
More than 40 heavyweight speakers from Hong Kong and the UK including Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China and Liam Fox, Secretary of State for International Trade of the UK will share their insights and experience of making use of the Hong Kong platform at the main symposium and a series of thematic sessions on 21 September.
The main symposium in the morning will be structured around two discussion topics: Asia in the New Economic Order and The Belt and Road Initiative: Partnering for Prosperity. The first will discuss the economic outlook, risks and opportunities in Asia which accounts for 60 per cent of global economic growth. The Belt and Road Initiative session will provide practical insights into how commercial sectors can unleash the full potential of these opportunities.
The afternoon is grouped around four thematic seminars, each followed by a networking session:
-- Doing Business in China and throughout Asia - This session will provide a quick guide to the start-up scene in Asia which has rocketed in the past few years and will highlight the support available including fund raising. In addition, this theme will explain more about Asia's burgeoning middle-class consumers, the development of online shopping and cross-border e-commerce, and the new approach of marketing, branding and customer engagement using technology and new media.
-- Hong Kong: Gateway to Belt and Road Opportunities - Infrastructure financing experts in this panel will share their insights on what China's Belt and Road Initiative means and how Hong Kong, in particular the recent establishment of the Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office (IFFO) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), can help UK businesses to connect with the vast opportunities arising from this.
-- FinTech - The session will see governmental bodies, financial regulators and FinTech professionals explaining why global FinTech companies are attracted to Hong Kong, as well as sharing their vision for the future of Hong Kong - already an international financial centre with highly developed ICT infrastructure - as a global FinTech hub.
-- UK-Sino Investment Partnerships in Innovation and Technologies Programme - While British enterprises expand to Asia, Asian and mainland companies are also looking for international investment and business opportunities. Hong Kong is the ideal facilitator to help both sides find the right partners, matching relevant businesses together and providing professional services throughout the process. Business leaders and Hong Kong professionals will share their visions of overseas investments, as well as the challenges and opportunities of managing the overseas portfolios.
This year's "Think Asia, Think Hong Kong" programme will kick off with a Hong Kong Dinner, an exclusive event to be officiated by HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer and attended by senior government ministers and business leaders from both the UK and Hong Kong on 20 September.
For more information about "Think Asia, Think Hong Kong", please visit: http://www.thinkasiathinkhk.com/2017.
Contact:
In the first instance, please contact HKTDC's London press office:
Jo Williams
Tel: +44 (0)20 3874 3057/ +44 (0)7825 686 930
Email: jo.williams@rochesterprgroup.com
The HKTDC London office:
Martin Evans
Tel: +44 (0)20 7616 9504
Email: martin.evans@hktdc.org
For Hong Kong specific enquiries, HKTDC's Communication and Public Affairs Department in Hong Kong:
Vince Lung
Tel: +852 2584 4341
Email: vince.mh.lung@hktdc.org
Topic: Press release summary
Source: HKTDC
Sectors: Trade Shows, Retail & eCommerce, Daily Finance, Daily News, Funds & Equities, Blockchain Technology, Banking & Insurance, Regional
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