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CRC INF 13/91
(CEC 12/91)
Introduction
China's Investment in Hong Kong
This paper reports on the present situation in respect of China's investment in Hong Kong. The principal
sources of information include press cuttings from
newspapers and journals, and feedbacks from various
contacts.
The
picture is inevitably incomplete given the limited availability of systematic and reliable data and
the problems of tracing the beneficial ownership of Hong Kong firms.
Background history
2.
China has always been a major investor in Hong Kong, particularly since 1978 following the adoption of
open door policy in the country. Up to 1978, the form of China's economic presence in Hong Kong remained essentially unchanged compared with the years immediately after 1949
when the People's Republic of China (PRC) was first
established.
At that time, China's trade and other
economic activities in Hong Kong were mainly handled by various Hong Kong registered companies and agencies which represented specific ministries of the Chinese government. The three most important examples of these companies and agencies were the China Resources Company (chief
representative of the Ministry of Foreign Economic
Relations and Trade), the Bank of China (chief
representative of the Ministry of Finance) and the Hong Branch of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company (chief representative of the Ministry of Communications). Although the business
Kong
of these companies were
activities
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