The Hong Kong Trade Development Council will hold the Think Business, Think Hong Kong (TBTHK) mega promotion campaign in Milan on 27 November.
The event will bring together representatives from Hong Kong, including government officials, top business leaders, innovators, investors and start-up entrepreneurs for a day of dialogue, networking and partnership-building with Italian companies keen to expand into Asia.
High-profile speakers from the Hong Kong SAR Government and Italian government will deliver remarks in addition to speakers from various industry bodies and commercial organisations.
Seminars and presentations will focus on areas that reflect shared priorities between Hong Kong and Italy. These include finance and trade, innovation and technology, supply chain services, and creativity and design. Case studies and testimonials will showcase promising opportunities for Italian businesses seeking to expand in Asia.
Strong Italy-Hong Kong ties
Italy is an important trading and investment partner of Hong Kong. In 2024, trade between Italy and Hong Kong amounted to US$8.3 billion. This positions Italy as Hong Kong’s fourth-largest trading partner and third-largest import market in the EU.
Italy was also the third-largest EU investor in Hong Kong at the end of 2023, while Hong Kong was the third most popular destination for Italian investment in Asia.
Hong Kong investors also made substantial investments in Italy, with the city being the third-largest Asian investor in the country. As of 2024, there were 200 Italian companies operating in Hong Kong.
The most dynamic sectors include fashion and luxury goods, electronics, food and beverages as well as high-value professional services industries, for which Italian excellence is globally recognised.
The Asian metropolis offers a unique global ecosystem, combining competitive taxation, a robust legal framework based on the common law, strong IP protection and privileged access to the Chinese Mainland and emerging Asia-Pacific markets.
This combination makes Hong Kong an ideal platform for Italian companies eager to expand internationally, diversify and strengthen their presence in one of the world’s most vibrant regions.
This will be the second time the TBTHK campaign has been held in Italy after the previous edition in 2014. The most recent editions took place in Paris in 2023 and Jakarta in January 2025.