Hong Kong And Shanghai Join Forces To Attract Japanese Investors

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

22 February 2005

The SAR's investment promotion body Invest Hong Kong, and the Shanghai Municipal Government Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Commission (SMERT), have announced the staging of a jointly-organised seminar in Tokyo designed to attract Japanese investors to Hong Kong and China.

The seminar, entitled ‘Hong Kong and Shanghai - The Two Engines for China's Economic Development’, is the first investment promotion initiative that Hong Kong and Shanghai have conducted overseas, and it is hoped by officials that the seminar will generate considerable interest from senior Japanese business executives.

One of the principal objectives of the seminar will be to identify opportunities for Japanese companies in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), with an emphasis on Hong Kong and Shanghai as the hubs and bases from which to access these two economically vibrant zones.

The Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mike Rowse, and the Chairman of SMERT, Pan Longqing, will deliver keynote speeches, whilst the President of the Japan-Hong Kong Society and the former Managing Director of Mitsubishi Corporation, Hiroshi Zaizen, will be the moderator.

“Japanese companies have been among the largest investors in both the Mainland and Hong Kong," observed Mr Rowse, who added that: "Hong Kong's position as the business hub in Asia has attracted over 2,100 Japanese companies to set up their regional headquarters or offices in Hong Kong."

Mr Rowse continued that: "Hong Kong has also been a base for foreign investors to develop businesses elsewhere in the Mainland, including Shanghai and the YRD. The combined strengths of these regions in China have created substantial opportunities for business development."

According to Pan Longqing, the chairman of Shanghai Municipal Government Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Commission, Japan is already one of Shanghai's largest sources of foreign investment, with Japanese investors having contributed more than US$10 billion, or 12% of the total foreign investment in Shanghai, in over 5,000 projects.

"Investments made by Japanese companies have resulted in a win-win situation. It has stimulated the economic development of Shanghai and, at the same time, brought substantial investment returns for Japanese companies. We always welcome Japanese companies to establish businesses in Shanghai,” Pan stated.

Top executives from Hitachi and Bandai Logipal have been lined up to speak at next month's seminar, while the Xiao Minjie, Senior Economist of Daiwa Institute of Research (H.K.) Ltd., will discuss business opportunities and prospects for Japanese companies in China in a macro perspective.

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