Local companies have benefited significantly from the removal of tariffs in 2008 on computers, semiconductors and other IT products. Since then, exports of office machinery, computers and IT products have almost tripled.

More than 90 per cent of Saudi Arabia's exports are related to oil and energy, such as crude petroleum, petrochemicals, plastics and other materials. Saudi companies and financial institutions also use Hong Kong's financial services and markets.

'Business ties between Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong are very active. Our rapidly growing economy provides plenty of opportunities for expanding business relationships in all areas,' says Hammad Al-Rowaily, Saudi Arabia's Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau.

He says Hong Kong's open and dynamic business environment, and strong legal and banking systems make the city an attractive platform for Saudi companies to conduct business with the mainland.

As the Saudi economy continues to grow, Basil Al-Ajmi, acting director for international joint ventures at Aramco Overseas Company, Hong Kong, says the firm is sourcing much larger volumes of goods and services from Asia, including Hong Kong.

'Saudi Aramco and its affiliates in the Far East act as bridges between the company and its customers throughout Asia. We are finding new suppliers and service providers who can compete not just on price but on quality. This is a significant growth area for the future and one which provides mutual benefits to Saudi Aramco and its suppliers and contractors,' he says.

However, this is not an entirely new development. 'Our Hong Kong office was established a decade ago to manage our entry into our Fujian joint petroleum ventures. Over time, as the relationship between Saudi Aramco and the Chinese market has grown, so has our presence in Hong Kong. For example, just five years ago, China imported about 440,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Saudi Aramco; by the end of last year, that number stood at a million barrels per day. For the first time, this exceeds Saudi Aramco's exports to the United States,' Al-Ajmi says.

He says the company's international joint ventures office in Hong Kong also plays an important role in developing and administering Saudi Aramco's sponsored Far East student programme, which aims to educate bilingual, multicultural, talented professionals to strengthen its talent pool.

'We have a team of dedicated career development counsellors who provide individual advice and support to the students, as well as identifying fresh opportunities for collaboration with universities in the region,' Al-Ajmi says.

There are more than 100 Saudi Aramco-sponsored students studying at leading universities throughout Asia. In addition, the company has recently signed a number of memoranda of understanding with academic institutions in the Far East related to research and development projects.

Students selected to join the Far East programme begin with an intensive three-to-six month preparation programme in Dhahran, Saudi Aramco's headquarters in Saudi Arabia. Once they arrive in their designated countries, they participate in a language and culture programme lasting between 18 and 24 months, designed to equip them for success in their university programmes, that are conducted in the relevant local language.

'In other words, an individual is not only earning a degree in electrical engineering or finance, for example, but he is doing it in Chinese or Japanese, which is a real challenge,' Al-Ajmi says.

Undergraduate students engaged in the programme will spend at least six years completing their language programme and university degree. 'This requires a lot of determination and discipline, and these young people have to meet high standards before they are accepted into the programme,' Al-Ajmi says.