British, French businesses eyeing Hong Kong as launch pad for expansion into mainland China and rest of Asia, city’s Paul Chan says

Finance minister wraps up visit to London and heads off to Germany as part of 10-day journey across Europe at head of 130-strong trade delegation
‘Hong Kong’s role as a gateway and springboard is highly evident. I encourage [French, UK businesses] to accelerate and expand their development in Hong Kong,’ Chan says

Hong Kong economy

Willa Wu

Published: 6:44pm, 24 Sep 2023

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British and French companies have spoken with Hong Kong officials about using the city as a base for expanding their operations into mainland China and the wider continent, the finance chief has revealed.

While Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po stopped short of naming the companies in his blog on Sunday, he quoted foreign business representatives as saying there was significant room to bolster cooperation in industries such as green technology and finance, innovation, as well as the arts and culture sector.

The minister made the remarks as he wrapped up his visit to London, the second stop in his 10-day journey across Europe at the head of a 130-strong trade delegation.

It is the largest delegation to set out from Hong Kong since the Covid-19 pandemic, kicking off with a visit to businesses in Paris.

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“During our exchange with enterprises, we learned that they were very interested in expanding their businesses in Hong Kong,” Chan wrote.

“Some are negotiating with the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises to settle in Hong Kong, and use Hong Kong as a base to expand into the Greater Bay Area, mainland China and even the Asian market.”

Chan was referring to a new government office launched in December that focuses on attracting enterprises and investors to Hong Kong, with the body acting as a one-stop shop for foreign businesses.

The office has spoken with more than 200 companies based on the mainland, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America. The businesses spanned sectors such as life and health technology, artificial intelligence and data science, as well as advanced manufacturing and new energy technology.

The Post has reached out to the office for further details.

Chan observes operations at the Elizabeth line, a rail route in London run by a wholly owned subsidiary of the MTR Corporation. Photo: Handout

Chan on Sunday touted Hong Kong as a “familiar, trusted and preferred” location for businesses to set up shop. He cited the city’s advantages, including its common law system, business-friendly environment, simple tax system and low levy rates, as well as its internationally aligned regulatory framework.

“Hong Kong’s role as a gateway and springboard is highly evident. I encourage [French and British businesses] to accelerate and expand their development in Hong Kong,” he said.

The minister said about 650 British and 360 French companies were already based in Hong Kong.

Official figures showed that both countries’ accumulated direct investments in Hong Kong had exceeded US$200 billion as of 2021.

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On Saturday, the minister said leading global pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca was expected to establish a research and development centre in Hong Kong.

The company established a branch in Hong Kong back in 1990 using the location as a base for introducing medicines both locally and in Macau.

AstraZeneca has also signed two agreements with public corporation the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks to establish an incubation programme for biomedical start-ups that connects them with local universities, as well as key opinion leaders and hospitals in the bay area.

Chan last week visited Paris for the first three days of his trade tour, before heading to London on Wednesday. He met local government officials and spoke with business leaders from areas such as life and health technology, as well as the cultural and creative sectors.

London’s new Elizabeth Line is open – and it’s being run by Hong Kong’s MTR

The Hong Kong government on Sunday said the minister had visited Paddington railway station during his trip to London to observe the Elizabeth line’s operation.

The route is run by MTR Elizabeth line, a wholly owned subsidiary of the MTR Corporation.

Hong Kong’s rich experience in designing, building and operating infrastructure projects was an indicator of the city’s “soft power”, the minister said.

However, the latest data from the UK’s Office of Rail and Road found that the Elizabeth line, which fully opened in May, had recently topped the chart for service cancellations among all of London’s intercity train routes.

Over a four-week period ending on August 19, 9.1 per cent of services along the line had been cancelled.

Howard Smith, director of the Elizabeth line, had attributed the cancellation of services to “significant problems with the signalling systems and infrastructure on the western section, and a defective maintenance train”.

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The next leg of Chan’s tour will take him to Berlin, before stopping over in Germany’s financial powerhouse, Frankfurt. He is expected to meet business leaders, including those from the fiscal sector, and visit several companies.

The Hong Kong government launched the 10-day tour amid heightened political tensions between Britain and the city.

The UK earlier described the city’s legal system as being at a critical juncture with the promulgation of the national security law, arguing that civil rights were “under significant pressure”.