Seminars in Belgium and the Netherlands: biotech and logistics opportunities

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) brought opportunities in biotech and logistics in Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to the attention of entrepreneurs in Belgium and the Netherlands at two well-attended business seminars in Brussels, Belgium and Rotterdam, the Netherlands on 28 and 29 September 2021 respectively.

Co-organised by HKETO, Brussels with the Belgium-Hong Kong Society, Invest Hong Kong and the** Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC)**, the business seminar in Brussels has become an important annual event where speakers update Belgian companies on the latest developments and business opportunities in Hong Kong.

At the seminar on 28 September entitled 'Hong Kong, Gateway for Venture Capital in Biotech';, Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Union, Mr Eddie Cheung, shared with around 70 Belgian entrepreneurs how Hong Kong is capitalising on China's fast-growing biotech industry, which has attracted strong venture capital interest.

Managing Director of Innofocus, Mr Luc Lammens, shared his insight on why Hong Kong, in just three years, has become the second largest listing venue for biotech pioneers, while the Head of Investment Promotion, Invest Hong Kong Unit in Brussels, Ms Paula Kant, introduced business opportunities in Hong Kong in various cutting-edge sectors.

In the Netherlands, the seminar 'Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area: Shaping the Logistics of the Future'; on 29 September looked at major changes in the logistics industry in recent years and the opportunities offered to the industry in the Greater Bay Area.

The seminar was organised by the Netherlands Hong Kong Business Association, in collaboration with HKETO, Brussels, Invest Hong Kong and HKTDC. Several promising entrepreneurs in the Netherlands shared how leading companies are harnessing innovative solutions to prepare themselves for emerging trends and major changes in the logistics industry.

At the Netherlands-Hong Kong Friendship Dinner after the seminar, Mr Eddie Cheung addressed participants and special guests, including H.E. Tan Jian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Mr Peter Portman, Acting Director General Foreign Economic Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands; and Ms Roos Verweij, Vice Mayor of the City of Rotterdam.

Mr Eddie Cheung shared with entrepreneurs in Belgium and the Netherlands the newly published 'Report on Hong Kong's Business Environment: A Place with Unique Advantages and Unlimited Opportunities';. He said the Report was a fact-based summary of the strong fundamentals of Hong Kong as a business hub and an international financial center. He said that with restored stability, judiciary independence and proximity to Mainland China, opportunities abound in Hong Kong for all business sectors.

For information about investing/setting up a business in Hong Kong, please contact Ms Paula Kant at paula_kant@hketobrussels.gov.hk