DR2’s speech for business seminar in Thessaloniki, 17 March 2015
Mr [Yannis] Patsiavos [General Director, SEV International Activities Council]
Mr [Dimitris] Bakatselos [Chairman, Thessaloniki CCI]
Mr [Athanasios] Savvakis, [Chairman, Fed. of Industries of Northern Greece],
Mr [Kyriakos] Loufakis [Chairman, International Business Association],
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome and thank you for participating in this business seminar.
I am delighted to be back in Greece. My office, the Hong Kong
Economic and Trade Office in Brussels, is the official representation of the
Hong Kong Government to the European Union and 15 European countries. We came to Athens last June when our Secretary for Transport and Housing led a
Hong Kong maritime delegation to attend the Posidonia exhibition. We are encouraged to see that Greek companies are increasingly looking to our part of the world to do business. There are more Greek business delegations going to
Hong Kong, like the visit organised by the SEV last year.
The great enthusiasm among Greek entrepreneurs has impressed us a lot, and we therefore decide to come back this year to build up closer cooperation with you.
For those of you who may not be familiar with Hong Kong, let me tell you some important facts. Since 1997, Hong Kong has been a Special
Administrative Region of China, keeping its own economic and legal systems and enjoying a high degree of autonomy under the “one country, two systems” principle enshrined in our constitutional document, the Basic Law. Freedom of speech is guaranteed in Hong Kong and all basic rights, including the protection of private properties are protected by the law. Hong Kong is a very safe place, and the incidence of corruption is very low. For 21 consecutive years, Hong
Kong has been ranked the freest economy by the Heritage Foundation. We have a completely free market, free flow of capital and information and a freely convertible currency.
Like Greece, Hong Kong has a strong trading tradition. We have container ports renowned for handling high-value products, and the world’s most efficient airport for international cargo. What makes us special is that our highly experienced logistics companies, together with trading and marketing experts, will provide European exporters one-stop service, so that you do not have to worry about all the customs, taxation and legal requirements. The only

thing that you have to focus is how to improve your products to fit the Mainland and Asian market.
This brings me to the point about the market potential of Greek products in Hong Kong. As we all know, tourists like to spend a lot. In 2014, there were around 23 million tourists visiting Greece. They are obviously your target customers for fine Greek products, but they are scattered in different parts, some in Athens, and some in Santorini. You need to have a good network of retail partners to reach them.
How about Hong Kong? In 2014, we welcomed over 60 million visitors.
They are highly concentrated in our compacted shopping streets and huge shopping malls. This means that by setting up one retail outlet, or by occupying a small shelf at one of the busy shops in Hong Kong, you will be able to reach an enormous number of customers with good spending power, many of them are the middle-class for the Mainland China. If you want to build your brand name among Mainland Chinese, sell your products in Hong Kong. This is the most effective way to advertise your products to the Mainland market. As food safety is a big concern for all people, they are people willing to pay a premium for quality products, including fine foods and beverages.
To understand our market better, it is also important for me to give you a brief account of the latest economic trend in Hong Kong.
Last month, our Financial Secretary released our Budget for 2015-16.
We are fortunate in that we continue to enjoy full employment. Our economy grew by 2.3 % in 2014 and we expect between 1% and 3% growth this year.
We also have a quite a good fiscal surplus [ over EUR 7 billion and EUR 4 billion forecast this year].
We are mindful of the importance of attracting more talents and professionals from overseas. Very soon we will relax admission arrangements to attract more entrepreneurs starting and developing their business in Hong
Kong, which means that it is easier for you to come and adventure in an economy full of opportunities.
Being a part of China while at the same time having our own system gives us a unique advantage, and allows us to be a super-connector between the mainland of China and the rest of the world. Greek companies registered in
Hong Kong would be able to benefit from our special free trade agreement with the Mainland China, which entitles your products produced in Hong Kong to zero tariff entry to the Chinese market, and many other preferential treatments.
By stationing yourself in Hong Kong, you will also find it much easier to reach

the most affluent province in China – the Guangdong Province, which is just next door.
The last message that I would like to pass to you today, is that Hong Kong welcomes small and medium-size enterprises. SMEs make up over 98% of
Hong Kong business establishments. Throughout the years, the Hong Kong government has been committed to providing strong support to SMEs, local and overseas alike, to enhance their competitiveness and explore new markets and opportunities. Apart from maintaining a business-friendly environment, we provide SMEs with various kinds of funding support, excellent infrastructure, the latest market information as well as business advisory and consultation services.
Innovation and technology start-ups can also make use of various incubation programmes provided by the Hong Kong Science and Technology
Parks Corporation, Cyperport and Hong Kong Design Centre. Their programmes and support services include shared workspace, business knowledge training, business liaison and interflow, and investment matching activities. All these aim to help start-ups overcome difficulties encountered at the initial stage of their business development and grow further.
My colleague from InvestHK, Siegfried Versteppen, will tell you about the assistance available for start-ups in a short time. InvestHK is a Hong Kong government department that assists Greek enterpreuers to set up new offices in
Hong Kong. It is prepared to provide free advice and customised service to every one of you who is interested in taking advantage of the business opportunities available in Hong Kong, and through Hong Kong, in the China and Asia markets.
Concluding remarks
Ladies and Gentlemen, before I pass the floor to Siegfried, I would just like to mention one more thing. Our office, the Hong Kong Economic and
Trade Office, Brussels, is celebrating its 50 th anniversary this year. As one of the events to celebrate this milestone, we will organise a Hong Kong film festival in Thessaloniki in September or October. It will be a retrospective of some of Hong Kong’s classic martial arts films. I hope some of you will be able to come. We will be delighted to see you there. And of course, we will be delighted to see you in Hong Kong.
Thank you.