Hong Kong welcomes 18 key enterprises

HONG KONG, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Thursday held a signing ceremony to welcome 18 more strategic enterprises establishing or expanding their operations in Hong Kong.

These firms cover cutting-edge sectors such as advanced manufacturing and financial technology. Several of them are valued at more than 100 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 12.76 billion U.S. dollars).

"Half of our new partners come from the Chinese mainland, while the other half from various parts of the world. That diversity speaks to Hong Kong's role -- a place where businesses, talent and ideas from around the world come together to prosper," said Paul Chan, financial secretary of the HKSAR government.

Chan said the growth of the previous six batches of strategic enterprises has been impressive. Their total investment has exceeded expectations by 30 percent, and the jobs created by 34 percent.

So far, the OASES has attracted more than 142 strategic enterprises. Collectively, these companies are projected to bring approximately 84 billion Hong Kong dollars in investment and create about 26,700 jobs.