On the second day of a visit to Nanjing, Financial Secretary Paul Chan met Jiangsu provincial leaders and business representatives, attended a conference promoting support for enterprises in “going global”, and visited a platform for the commercialisation of research outcomes.
The visit by Mr Chan and his delegation aims to deepen co-operation between Jiangsu and Hong Kong, and support Mainland enterprises in leveraging Hong Kong to expand their global business.
In the morning, the finance chief attended a conference themed “Jiangsu-Hong Kong Partnership: Setting Sail Together”.
Addressing attendees, he highlighted that this year marks the beginning of the National 15th Five-Year Plan. Through closer co-operation, he remarked, Jiangsu and Hong Kong can seize the opportunities arising from the country’s pursuit of high-level opening up and translate these into tangible results for enterprises expanding into international markets.
He urged Jiangsu enterprises to use Hong Kong as a base for planning their global expansion.
Mr Chan also stressed that Jiangsu and Hong Kong enjoy a solid foundation of co-operation. Hong Kong is both Jiangsu’s largest source of foreign investment and its largest destination for outward investment. As of the end of September, 129 Jiangsu enterprises with a combined market capitalisation of about $1.44 trillion, were listed in Hong Kong.
The Financial Secretary said the two places have a sound basis for co-operation, with ample scope for further collaboration in innovation-driven development and expansion into international markets.
Mr Chan iterated that Hong Kong’s strengths extend beyond stock market listings and fundraising to its high concentration of international capital, financial institutions and professional talent. He said that enterprises can connect with international investors and partners through Hong Kong, broadening their financing channels to support business development at different stages.
On talent and innovation and technology (I&T), Mr Chan highlighted that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is taking forward the development of the Northern Metropolis and university towns.
He outlined that these projects aim to bring together quality education and research resources from Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas to foster the co-ordinated development of education, technology, talent and industries, and to accelerate the commercialisation of research outcomes.
He invited Jiangsu enterprises to visit the Northern Metropolis to explore co-operation opportunities.
Mr Chan elaborated that, in attracting enterprises and nurturing industries, the Hong Kong SAR Government looks not only at the scale of investments, but also at enterprises’ technological capabilities, capacity for innovation, and long-term contributions to Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem and talent development.
He added that the Hong Kong SAR Government is keen to explore investment co-operation with enterprises that are aligned with Hong Kong’s future development priorities, and to offer support on land, taxation and other areas.
He expressed the hope of building long-term partnerships with Jiangsu enterprises and supporting more Mainland enterprises in becoming multinational corporations that have global influence and bring Chinese technologies, products and solutions to markets around the world.
Mr Chan also held a breakfast meeting with a group of young Jiangsu entrepreneurs to exchange views on business development and co-operation opportunities between the two places.
In addition, he attended a sharing session with Hong Kong business people and enterprises in Jiangsu to learn about their business development in the province.
In the afternoon, the delegation visited the National Regional Technology Transfer & Transformation Centre for Higher Education Institutions (Jiangsu) to learn about its work in promoting the transfer and commercialisation of university research outcomes, matching these with the needs of enterprises, and fostering industry-academia-research collaboration.
The delegation met officials and representatives from the centre and from Nanjing’s Jiangbei New Area, as well as representatives of local industries and enterprises.
They discussed promoting two-way co-operation between Jiangsu and Hong Kong, and establishing more regular mechanisms for I&T collaboration.
At the meeting, Mr Chan urged Jiangsu and Hong Kong to strengthen connections among science and technology parks, universities, enterprises, investment institutions and the professional services sector, facilitate talent exchanges, and bring more promising research projects to fruition.
In the evening, Mr Chan called on Governor of Jiangsu Province Liu Xiaotao. They discussed deepening economic and trade co-operation between Jiangsu and Hong Kong, connecting innovation and industrial resources, and jointly supporting enterprises in expanding into overseas markets.
