Since the implementation of investment facilitation policy in last August until end of last December, a total of 68 Chinese mainland enterprises were granted approval for coming to invest in Hong Kong.
Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest
Hong Kong Mike Rowse made the remarks at a reception jointly held by Invest
Hong Kong and the
Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association HKCEA) for business leaders of Hong Kong-based Chinese mainland enterprises Thursday evening.
He said with the implementation of the investment facilitation policy by the Ministry of Commerce, Invest
Hong Kong anticipates the number of Chinese mainland investment projects assisted by the department will continue to grow in 2005.
Rowse expressed his gratitude to the Chinese companies for casting a strong vote of confidence in
Hong Kong by their continued investment in the city. As reported by the Census and Statistics Department, the Chinese mainland was the one of the largest contributor to Hong Kong's direct investment inflow in 2003, amounting to 38 billion HK dollars (4.87 billion US dollars), Rowse said.
"We are very encouraged by the new applications to invest in
Hong Kong and the positive response received from the Chinese mainland enterprises. We will continue to strengthen our investment promotion efforts in the Chinese mainland in 2005," Rowse said.
In response to the growing interest and investment from the Chinese mainland enterprises, the department has reinforced and expanded the investment promotion teams focusing on Chinese mainland-related projects. Now, there are five investment promotion teams, including the team situated in Guangzhou, responsible to facilitate Chinese mainland investors.
Vice-chairman of the HKCEA Liu Guoyuen urged Chinese mainland enterprises to leverage on the benefits of a booming
Hong Kong economy and accelerate its growth in order to make greater contribution to supporting the
Hong Kong economic development.
At the reception, Invest
Hong Kong officially announced the appointment of eight prominent business leaders from Hong Kong-based Chinese mainland enterprises as Investment Promotion Ambassadors (IPAs).
The eight newly appointed IPAs include Qin Xiao, chairman of China Merchants Group, He Guangbei, vice-chairman and chief executive of Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd, Chen Xinhua, chairman of China Resources (Holdings) Co., Ltd and five other heads of HK based Chinese mainland enterprises.
The Investment Promotion Ambassador Scheme is designed to harness the energy and networking potential of prominent figures in the business community to support Hong Kong's investment promotion efforts in overseas and the Chinese mainland markets.
