Companies from France and the UK are in discussions about establishing a presence in Hong Kong, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said yesterday during his European trip.
Writing in his weekly blog, Chan said several firms were discussing with the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises to set up operations in Hong Kong and use the city as a base for expanding into the Greater Bay Area, mainland China, and even the Asian market.
The office, which was set up in December last year, aims at luring businesses from the mainland and overseas by offering them special facilitation measures and one-stop services.
UK pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, for example, indicated that it plans to develop a research and development center in Hong Kong following in-depth talks with the office, Chan revealed earlier on Saturday.
Chan said that Hong Kong is a "trusted and preferred" place for businesses to settle thanks to its strengths including its common law system, business-friendly environment, simple tax system and lower rates, as well as a regulatory system that is in line with international standards.
Chan noted there were currently 650 British firms and 360 French companies in Hong Kong, adding that total direct investment from the UK and France had exceeded US$200 billion (HK$1.56 trillion) in 2021.
Chan also said that he visited a number of green technology firms to attract them to Hong Kong,
