Speaking at a major investment promotion event in Madrid on Tuesday, Lau told business leaders about the close relationships between Asia's premier financial centre and China's wealthiest province.

"During the past quarter century Hong Kong and Guangdong have combined and leveraged our respective strengths to develop one of the world's most efficient and cost-effective manufacturing supply chains. Hong Kong provides the capital, management, technology, market knowledge and access to international markets while Pearl River Delta cities offer world-class low-cost manufacturing, and access to a new, demanding consumer base," she said.

Meanwhile, at a Hong Kong business seminar, Director-General of Investment Promotion Mike Rowse told Spanish investors that Hong Kong serves as a springboard into China.

"[Hong Kong] is a low-risk starting point where Spanish companies can take advantage of both [its] familiarity of international practices and knowledge of the China market. Hong Kong and Spain have developed close economic ties. In 2007 total trade between two places amounted to EUR2.2 billion (USD2.85bn), making Spain our seventh trading partner from the EU," he said.

One hundred Spanish companies are doing business in Hong Kong and about 20 of them operate as regional headquarters and regional offices. They are active in banking, financial services, logistics, fashion, trading, retailing and many other areas.