Media ININ Economy We Trust
Media IN DUBAI, 17th June, 2019 (WAM)
A high-level joint business and professional mission from China and Hong Kong have congregated in Dubai for a two-day business programme that focused on cooperation and investment opportunities in the UAE.
The mission, co-organised by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, HKSAR, and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, comprised some 70 investors and services professionals from the Mainland China and Hong Kong.
The mission’s official programme started with the signing of an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, IPPA, between the UAE and Hong Kong, marking a milestone of economic cooperation between the two countries.
The delegates also visited the Jebel Ali Free Zone and the site of Expo 2020 Dubai and met with various local companies to explore the potential for cooperation.
Stephen Liang, Assistant Executive Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, which is a supporting organisation of the mission, highlighted Hong Kong’s role as the bridge connecting Mainland China with the rest of the world, including the Middle East, with about 60 percent of the Mainland’s outbound investments going to or through Hong Kong.
The HKTDC’s international trade fairs, conferences and other business events throughout the year support hundreds of companies from Dubai and the UAE in growing their businesses in the Asian and world markets.
Robust trade links between Hong Kong and the UAE have been in place for many years, with the city exporting goods worth more than US$6 billion to the emirates in 2018, and importing goods valued at more than $4 billion.
From a Mainland China perspective, the UAE is increasingly seen as a sound place for investment, spurred by the growing number of Belt and Road projects in this region.
The mainland’s cumulative foreign direct investment in the UAE amounted to almost $5.4 billion at the end of 2017, with a lot more projects in the pipeline.
