The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) this week announced its major focus areas for 2024-2025 to strengthen Hong Kong’s status as a leading global business and investment hub and C&E centre and create opportunities for Hong Kong businesses.
HKTDC Chairman Dr Peter K N Lam said: “With the record-breaking attendance at our Asian Financial Forum (AFF) in January, it is clear that international business leaders and investors have returned to Hong Kong. Looking ahead, we will further consolidate Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, trade and international C&E centre and promote Hong Kong’s strengths internationally.”
“We will redouble our efforts to highlight Hong Kong’s unique role in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and further integrate into the overall development of Mainland China, while actively exploring other rapidly growing markets, such as ASEAN and the Middle East.”
Since full post-pandemic reopening, the HKTDC has stepped up efforts to draw businesses from across the globe to Hong Kong, with trade events having welcomed visitors from Asia and the Middle East to Africa, from Europe to the Americas.
Last year, the HKTDC staged about 40 major events, attracting over 22,000 exhibitors and more than 430,000 physical buyers and participants from Hong Kong, the mainland and around the world, with visitor numbers from the mainland, ASEAN and the Middle East growing markedly.
Exhibitor and buyer participation at last year’s HKTDC trade fairs has returned to between 70% and 80% of pre-pandemic levels, with some even reaching 90%. Anchor conferences, such as the AFF and the Belt and Road Summit, attracted record-breaking attendance and strong international participation.
The HKTDC’s 2024-2025 major work focus is:
- Strengthen Hong Kong’s position within the GBA and its integration into national development
- Connect Hong Kong with opportunities in RCEP and beyond to reinforce Hong Kong’ status as a resilient and connected business hub
- Accelerate the development of Hong Kong’s pillar and new sectors with a focus on I&T, sustainability and wellness
- Reinforce Hong Kong’s role as a global business hub and a C&E centre
- Strengthen Hong Kong’s position within the GBA and its integration into national development
Two more GBA business support centres will open in Huizhou and Zhaoqing next month, giving the HKTDC a physical presence in all mainland GBA cities.
The HKTDC will also launch version 2.0 of the GoGBA business support programme to provide more comprehensive support for businesses keen to access the GBA. It will include a five-in-one support plan for different industries, comprising seminars, group and one-on-one consultations, GBA business visits and industry information kits.
Infrastructure and real estate services (IRES), legal and other professional services will be promoted and the HKTDC will arrange trade delegations to mainland GBA cities to facilitate collaboration.
SmartHK will be staged in Nanjing to boost collaboration between Hong Kong and Yangtze River Delta in trade, innovation and green finance.
The HKTDC will launch a new innovation and technology (I&T) zone at the Hong Kong Services Pavilion at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai to promote Hong Kong's I&T strengths as well as expand product offerings at the Hong Kong Pavilion at the China International Consumer Goods Expo in Hainan to cover niche sectors in high demand.
- Connect Hong Kong with opportunities in RCEP and beyond to reinforce Hong Kong’ status as a resilient and connected business hub
HKTDC’s mega promotion Think Business, Think Hong Kong will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia to showcase Hong Kong’s world-class services.
The Hong Kong Professional Plus campaign will debut to help service providers understand the ASEAN market and seize opportunities.
A fundraising roadshow to ASEAN or the Middle East will connect corporates with imminent fundraising needs and reinforce Hong Kong’s role as a fundraising hub.
The HKTDC will also lead a delegation to the Middle East to help Hong Kong IRES providers strengthen ties with their Middle Eastern counterparts.
The HKTDC will also launch the New Market Navigator Series, which comprises exploratory study missions and facilitate participation in trade fairs in targeted regions to highlight Hong Kong’s competitive edge across industries.
For the ASEAN market, the HKTDC will stage a Hong Kong product showcase at the FHA-HoReCa in Singapore, one of the largest hospitality focused events in Asia. For the Middle East market, the HKTDC will participate in regional trade fairs, such as Gifts & Lifestyle Middle East.
Partnerships with relevant industry associations will be explored to arrange missions consisting of company visits, business matching meetings and networking.
- Accelerate the development of Hong Kong’s pillar and new sectors with a focus on I&T, sustainability and wellness
Key events boosting sustainable and hi-tech development include Think Business, Think Hong Kong in overseas markets and AFF, the Belt and Road Summit and Eco Expo Asia. These will highlight Hong Kong’s role as an international centre for green finance and green technology.
Anchor fairs will feature an ESG seminar series to address the needs of different industries transitioning towards a more sustainable, low-carbon future.
The HKTDC will strengthen deal-making at AFF and target projects related to agritech, food tech, greentech, renewable energy and climate change mitigation, working closely with the Hong Kong Green Finance Association.
Efforts will include deeper collaboration with R&D and innovation centres of Hong Kong-based universities to promote technology commercialisation with a focus on healthtech.
The HKTDC will collaborate with start-up communities across Asia to position the Start-up Zone at HKTDC’s exhibitions as the ideal launchpad for start-ups to showcase their products and solutions.
Following last year’s introduction of a new ESG stream within the HKTDC’s Transformation Sandbox (T-box) business support programme, T-box partnerships with global technology companies to support SMEs’ digital transformation will continue to expand.
- Reinforce Hong Kong's role as a global business hub and a C&E centre
The HKTDC will stage about 40 large-scale international exhibitions and conferences, ranging from Eco Expo Asia and InnoEx to AFF and Asia Summit on Global Health.
Business visitors will find an enriched experience, as the HKTDC works with partner organisations to organise mega events around our anchor trade exhibitions and conferences. Linking the AFF and the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon last month was a good example.
The HKTDC will debut two trade fairs – DeLuxe PrintPack Hong Kong and Smart Lighting Expo – in April to meet market demand and facilitate opportunities in these industries.
Digital offerings at exhibitions and conferences will continue to be enhanced to provide a seamless online-to-offline experience for our participants and champion Hong Kong as a leader in innovation and digital transformation in the C&E industry.
