HK firms flock to Shanghai trade fair

A record number of more than 300 Hong Kong companies participated in the sixth China International Import Expo in Shanghai this year, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said.

Speaking at the expo yesterday, Lee said the trade fair offered a platform for Hong Kong businesses to tap into the mainland market and promote their products and services.

For the first time, the expo dedicated a seminar to the SAR.

At the seminar "Channelling Global Business through Hong Kong," Lee called Hong Kong a gateway between China and the world and its importance is on the rise as global economy shifts towards the east.

Lee said the city has signed free trade agreements with 20 economies and investment agreements with 32, including one signed with Turkey last week.

He disclosed his team is negotiating a free trade deal with Peru and investment agreements with Bahrain, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia to offer legal protection and better market conditions for Hong Kong firms.

He boasted that the SAR is a "super-connector" and "super value-adder."

The chief executive said the city also serves as the best platform for mainland companies to develop international markets and raise capital in light of the wide range of professional services available to them.

It is estimated that about 9,000 Hong Kong companies are owned by firms outside Hong Kong, of which over 2,100 are from the mainland, he said.

The number of mainland companies in the city leaped by a third over the past four years.

Speaking at another event in Shanghai yesterday, Lee said Hong Kong businesses are actively investing in the mainland to account for some 56 percent of China's foreign investment, contributing to the country's economic development.

Meanwhile, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who was also a member on the Hong Kong government delegation to the expo, reiterated Hong Kong's dedication to becoming a global hub for green finance and technology.

Chan said the capital raised by green bonds and sustainable debts exceeded US$80 billion (HK$624 billion) last year, which is about one third of the Asian market, adding that the city is stepping up efforts to develop an ecosystem for green tech with a view to becoming a top financing center for green funds and projects.

China's Ministry of Commerce was committed to supporting the SAR's further development actively, Minister Wang Wentao said yesterday.