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Hong Kong Attracts More Foreign Investment
Foreign enterprises are growing in numbers to invest in Hong Kong as attracted by improved environment for investment. It features an open and quick information, efficient and clean government, simple taxation, complete infrastructure of banks and financial institutes and legal administration with the exception of high rents and costs in production in Hong Kong.
Up to June 1, 2000, we saw a total of 3001 foreign enterprises establish their regional headquarters and offices in Hong Kong, a rise of 20.5 percent over the same period of the year before last. Of these enterprises, many are from the U.S.A and Japan, and about 70 percent are dealing with wholesale and retail businesses, imports and exports, and services including law and accounting firms, and advertisement services. Over 80 percent of them consider it attractive to set up regional offices here, and 96 percent say they would continue to stay in Hong Kong.
Mr. Mike Rowse, director-general of Invest Hong Kong in charge of promotion, said the growth has something to do with the ameliorating investment environment in Hong Kong. The market in Asia has taken a turn for the better after that financial storm. This has roused great interest from among foreign enterprises to invest in Hong Kong, resulting in a direct investment of HK$23bn in the year before last, and even the direct investment in the first half of last year twice as much as that of the same period of the year before last.
Rowse said, to make it simple, we enjoy a better location in Asia for commerce. After China's entry into the WTO, enterprises and corporations from around the world would take Hong Kong as a good place to set up their offices for business operations, an ideal gateway to the Mainland of China and also an approach to the southeast Asian market. The enterprises, especially the medium-sized ones from the North America and Europe which do not have enough resources to enter directly into China's mainland market as have done the large-sized, can extend their markets to China's mainland or find business partners from Hong Kong.
By PD Online staff member Huang Ying
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