Duke of York visits Hong Kong to seek closer economic ties between Britain, HK

Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, visited Hong Kong on Monday, which was aimed to promote and strengthen business and investment ties between Britain and Hong Kong, the British Consulate General in Hong Kong said in a statement.

In his role as Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, Prince Andrew highlighted UK's strength in the construction, design and engineering sectors as well as British excellence in financial services, it said.

Prince Andrew said the trade and investment relationship between the UK and Hong Kong continued to go from strength to strength and Hong Kong was a major hub for British business in Asia.

"Our trade is growing -- Hong Kong is now our third largest export market in Asia Pacific, after China's mainland and Japan. According to UN figures, Hong Kong is also home to over 30 billion British pounds of UK investment, which represents around half of all UK investment in Asia," he said.

In the other direction, the UK accounted for 80 percent of Hong Kong's direct investment in Europe, and that investment was set to grow, he added.

On Monday, Prince Andrew called on Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Donald Tsang and Financial Secretary John Tsang.

Prince Andrew is expected to end his tour on Tuesday. His visit to Hong Kong was the fourth stop on a regional tour.

Source: Xinhua