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Mayor Hazel McCallion of Mississauga and the Canadian delegates to the Hong Kong Forum and the World Small and Medium Enterprises Expo brought back a
positive message: “Use Hong Kong as a gateway to the China market.”
Over 100 Canadian delegates, the largest-ever group of Canadian business representatives to Hong Kong, attended the two business events in Hong Kong in November.
Its competitive advantages, its strengths as Asia’s world city and its outstanding infrastructure are just some of the attractive factors that attract Canadian trade delegations to explore business opportunities in Hong Kong. The largest 30-member “Manitoba Trade Mission to China and Hong Kong”, was led by the Deputy Premier of Manitoba, the Hon. Rosanne Wowchuk, and supported by the Hong Kong Canada Business Association in Winnipeg.
The 12-member “Team Mississauga”, led by Mayor Hazel McCallion, was organized by the Mississauga Board of Trade and Mississauga Board of Chinese Professionals & Businesses, and supported by the Mississauga Economic Development Office, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, and Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
More than 1,000 business people from 30 countries and regions came to the annual Hong Kong Forum and the World Small and Medium Enterprises Expo, while about 3,000 Mainland Chinese enterprises were represented.
Following the Hong Kong Forum, Mayor McCallion urged small and medium enterprises to use Hong Kong as a gateway to the flourishing China market, because “by doing so a lot of business risks would be eliminated.”
She said Canadian businesses could enjoy the protection under Hong Kong’s legal system such as the arbitration clause for contracts if the business deals were going through Hong Kong. At the same time, Canada-Hong Kong joint ventures could benefit from the CEPA (Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement). “You would not be able to enjoy all these benefits if you deal directly with China without going through Hong Kong,” she said.
Wrapping up her first visit to Hong Kong, Mayor McCallion said the Canadian government should promote more Canadian investments in China through Hong Kong as Hong Kong was an “active and vibrant economy”, and there was a lot in Hong Kong that the Canadian government could learn from.
According to Francis Ho, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (Canada), who co-ordinated the Mississauga delegation’s trip to Hong Kong, Canada had the largest contingent among all countries to November’s Hong Kong Forum – 109 of the 350 delegates were from Canada.
“These delegations have opened the curtain for the upcoming visit to Hong Kong by Team Canada led by Prime Minister Paul Martin, and a Canadian trade delegation to Hong Kong next January led by the federal International Trade Minister James Peterson,” Ho said. “They all understand the importance of Hong Kong’s middle-man role.”
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