Last month, Chief Executive John Lee led a delegation to Zhejiang province, where he attended an investment promotion conference in Ningbo. It’s part of a broader push by the SAR administration to open up new investment opportunities.
In an exclusive interview with RTHK, InvestHK’s director-general, Alpha Lau, said Zhejiang is not only the traditional cradle for supply chain and trading companies, it is also known for being a thriving IT hub that has produced six rapidly emerging tech companies.
“We call it the Six Little Dragons. So it’s a very, very rich location of companies which might have global aspirations… and where we hope to increase our collaboration between the two locations so that they could use Hong Kong as a stepping stone or springboard into their international expansion,” she said.
“InvestHK signed MOUs with 12 companies… those are the ones willing to go on stage. Obviously there are many other deals that we are discussing.”
Lau said that just days after the trip, she has already received a delegation from Ningbo and work is underway to help the firm set up shop in Hong Kong.
The InvestHK chief explained that the SAR has a lot to offer these companies, especially in areas like research and development.
“Hong Kong has an abundance of international talent in this area and five of the top 100 universities in the world who have got a lot of research capabilities,” she said.
Apart from the mainland, Lau pointed out that the government is also tapping into investment opportunities in places like India and the Middle East.
“What I have seen as a trend is that the region as a whole, they are very strong in resources related companies and also some development like hotels, more traditional type companies. But they’re very forward looking in terms of planning for the future.”
Another region that InvestHK will focus its efforts on is Eastern Europe, including Hungary and Turkey.
“What we’re hoping to do there is to raise awareness. Eastern Europe countries know China well, but they don’t know Hong Kong as a hub well,” she said.
