Gala held to strengthen bonds

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) city of Jiangmen held a gala dinner for Hong Kong and PRD industrialists late last month with more than 1,000 senior officials, members of high society and business tycoons in attendance.

Organizers said it was a good opportunity to exchange business ideas at a time when the global economy faces severe challenges.

The party was part of the city's strategy to forge even closer ties with commercial organizations in Hong Kong.

In the wake of the agreement in mid-November with the Chinese Manufacturers Association of Hong Kong, the city government of Jiangmen signed similar agreements with the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and Hong Kong Productivity Council during the gala for closer cooperative ties in trade and investment, said Wang Nanjian, mayor of Jiangmen city.

The city government will also sign agreements with Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce.

He said the city will exchange latest trade and investment policies, market information and investment information with commercial organizations in Hong Kong and both sides will sponsor exhibitions, seminars and other business activities.

He said that results of the gala party will be meaningful for development of trade and economic cooperation between Hong Kong and the PRD region, with agreements signed especially significant for Jiangmen.

This year's dinner was the seventh, with the previous six held respectively in PRD cities of Dongguan, Foshan, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Huizhou.

According to the mayor, the city government of Jiangmen is planning to set up an industrial park exclusively for Hong Kong investors and sponsor a seminar on the development of advanced manufacturing industry in the PRD region in December.

John Tsang, financial secretary of Hong Kong SAR, hailed the get-together, saying that relations between Hong Kong and Jiangmen will surely become closer.

Tsang said that he hoped Hong Kong businesspeople will take good advantage of the favorable policies offered by the central and Hong Kong governments to expand business amid global economic adversity.

Hong Kong investors have set up over 2,500 enterprises in Jiangmen with investment exceeding $8 billion, accounting for about 70 percent of the city's total overseas capital, official statistics indicate.

Source: China Daily