Jean Chretien leads group of entrepreneurs in bid to forge commercial partnerships with Hong Kong companies

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien kicks off a three-day trade mission in Hong Kong today to highlight the country's position as a leading provider of information and environmental technologies.

Mr Chretien heads Team Canada, a trade delegation that has already visited Beijing and Shanghai as part of a nine-day mission to China and Hong Kong. The mission is the biggest of its kind in Canadian history, involving senior cabinet ministers, provincial premiers and territorial leaders. More than 300 Canadian business leaders are visiting Hong Kong.

Mr Chretien led the first Team Canada trade mission to China in 1994, when 65 new business deals worth C$8.9 billion (HK$47 billion) were announced. Canada's commercial presence in the country has more than doubled since, with over 400 Canadian companies now permanently in China.

Senior Canadian officials said that during his Hong Kong visit, Mr Chretien would focus on Canada's flourishing IT community, a story that has been largely overshadowed by the technology boom in the United States.

'They want to bring to the attention of Hong Kong businesses the fact that there are many good Canadian companies, small and medium-sized businesses, with world-class technology capabilities,' the official said.

Accompanying the delegation is Keith Peiris, 12-year-old founder of Web site design company, Cyberteks Design. His firm has grown into a successful business with a list of 25 clients, mainly North American blue chip companies.

The trade mission is seen as a way to rebuild economic ties and put Hong Kong back on the 'radar screens', the official said. In recent years, emphasis on Pacific trade slipped as Canadian companies focused on developing commercial ties with the US.