The Hong Kong booth at the China International Fair for Investment and Trade 2019, held in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province, attracts visitors on Monday. Photo: VCG

More entrepreneurs and trade departments in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will find opportunities in the Chinese mainland, seek cooperation with local companies and jointly expand into overseas markets given the massive mainland market and complementary advantages the two sides share, Hong Kong business representatives say.

Hong Kong industry players believe that with Hong Kong's superior geographical location, international market experience and the advantages under the "one country, two systems" principle, HKSAR is set to use its advantages to serve the needs of the country and make a unique contribution to the Belt and Road Initiative construction, according to a file the Global Times acquired on Monday.

"Hong Kong is a bridge for many mainland enterprises which aim at global markets. Hong Kong could be a financing platform for them, and industries on both sides are highly complementary," Lu Rongzhi, permanent honorary president of the Hong Kong Commerce and Industry Association, told the Global Times on Monday.

The comments came amid the China International Fair for Investment and Trade 2019 (CIFIT), held in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province, which runs from Sunday to Tuesday. The Hong Kong booth, covering an area of 126 square kilometers, is eager to showcase its strengths - including financial services and logistics services - to attract the attention of mainland enterprises.

"We have all the time been keeping close contact [with mainland companies], and the CIFIT gives us a good platform where we can show enterprises from Fujian and even across China our advantages in the services sector," a Hong Kong-based industry player who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Global Times.

According to media reports, one of the big deals secured during the fair involves Yuankang Interface Technology Co, an electronics company from Hong Kong, which is expected to build an electronic component manufacturing project worth $500 million in Xiamen.

In August, Hong Kong entrepreneurs could also be seen at the China-Northeast Asia Expo and the 10th High-level Forum on Northeast Asia Cooperation held in Changchun, capital city of Northeast China's Jilin Province.

According to a report from the Xinhua News Agency, 36 Hong Kong firms took part in the expo to display their high-quality products and to expand into Northeast Asian markets.

Zhou Zhuang, a sales director at VTech, a Hong Kong-based toy maker, which was also an exhibitor at the expo, said that the company attaches great importance to the mainland market and puts a lot of effort into it. 

"Over the recent years, the mainland market has developed rapidly, and the supermarkets in the major cities of Northeast China have seen more VTech products. The company's year-on-year growth rate in the region has reached more than 20 percent so far this year," said Zhou.

The Greater Bay Area, encompassing Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in the Chinese mainland including Shenzhen, is part of a central government plan to make the region an innovation and financial powerhouse that rivals Silicon Valley and the Tokyo Bay Area. It will also offer more opportunities for Hong Kong firms, Hong Kong industry players said.


Newspaper headline: HK firms bet on mainland chances