Hong Kong Foreign Direct Investment Issue 1 ... - Invest Hong Kong

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Galpin pointed out that major
multinationals, such as General
Electric and Schneider Electric, had
demonstrated their confidence
in Hong Kong as a regional hub
by relocating sizeable global
operations to the city in 2011. At
the other end of the spectrum,
small and medium-sized companies,
the growth engine for Hong Kong’s
GDP, continued to find strong
business opportunities in the
city and beyond. “These are the
companies that often benefit most
from the support our teams offer
both overseas and here in Hong
Kong. It was great to see that, of
all our clients, 81 percent rated our
services as very useful,” Galpin said
One such firm was Lion
International, which set up a
subsidiary in Hong Kong to provide
and manage large institutions’
uniforms.“Without InvestHK’s
support we would have never been
able to set up as rapidly as we did.
Within three months we could
focus entirely on our core business.
One year later, we are already
launching three additional product
lines,” Jil Janine Hellman, Business
Development Manager, said.
Volatile Outlook for 2012
While announcing the strong
results, however, Galpin cautioned
that InvestHK would be closely
monitoring developments in the
global economy to prepare for
any impact on Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) into Hong Kong.
Without InvestHK’s support we would have
never been able to set up as rapidly as we did.
Within three months we could focus entirely on
our core business. One year later, we are already
launching three additional product lines
He noted that the extent of any
impact on Hong Kong remained
to be seen, but that he saw two
potential scenarios in the year
ahead. “Businesses in harder hit
economies may look to increase
their presence in Asia to offset
low demand in their domestic
markets. But if companies find it
difficult to raise funds, they may
delay expansion plans which would
have an impact on FDI,” Galpin
explained.
However, he said that Hong
Kong was known for its resilience
and adaptability and that InvestHK
would be taking a highly targeted
approach in 2012. “Obviously
Jil Janine Hellman
Business Development Manager, Lion International
Mainland China remains a strong
focus, as well as economies in the
ASEAN region and South America.
We also continue to see strong
prospects out of our traditional
source markets, the US, UK and
Japan.”
On a sector basis, Galpin
pointed to particularly strong
opportunities in the financial
services, creative industries, and
innovation and technology sectors.
“As we look ahead, we know
there are serious challenges, but
rather than discouraging us, this
motivates us to work harder and it
reinforces the importance of what
we do,” Galpin said.
InvestHK colleagues gathered in Hong Kong at the end of 2011 to discuss strategies for the
year ahead.