TRADE AND INDUSTRY
international trade fairs. It also promotes Hong Kong's image as an international business hub.
The TDC promotes Hong Kong's merchandise trade by industry. Similarly, its promotion of Hong Kong's service exports is structured thematically around clusters of related service industries. While industry specific in focus, the promotional approach is global. On the other hand, the TDC offices in different parts of the world provide essential input on a geographical basis, market by market. In 1999, the TDC organised some 360 events in Hong Kong and overseas to promote Hong Kong's products and services.
During 1999, to help create business opportunities for local companies, the TDC organised participation by Hong Kong companies at major trade events around the world, including new markets such as South Africa and the Middle East. Efforts were devoted to expanding and upgrading the Hong Kong pavilions at overseas trade fairs. so as to help bolster the image and competitive positioning of participating Hong Kong companies. The TDC also intensified efforts to promote Hong Kong as a sourcing and distribution centre for non-traditional exports, such as auto parts and accessories.
A highlight of the year was the council's Hong Kong Expo '99 in Shanghai, which attracted more than 40 000 visitors. It covered a wide range of Hong Kong brand name products, including garments and electrical appliances. Strong emphasis was also placed on promoting Hong Kong as a provider of services to businesses in the Mainland, especially those looking for international partners and markets.
Locally, some 20 trade fairs (some of which were the biggest in the region) were organised by the TDC at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre during the year. These events attracted 9 700 exhibitors (one third from overseas) and 1.1 million visitors, including some 86 000 overseas visitors.
The TDC continued to facilitate trade through market intelligence, trade matching and an expanding range of e-commerce applications. A major project it undertook in this respect was the development of an all embracing trade portal. The portal, launched in early 2000, provides comprehensive trade information, e-commerce facilities and other value-added services to all those who wish to do business in Hong Kong, the Mainland and other markets. It is linked up with key service and content providers including government departments, and provides free hypertext linkages to a large number of web sites of local companies and trade associations.
Another breakthrough was the opening of 24-hour access to the TDC's databank of 100 000 local companies to overseas users, free of charge. By the end of 1999, the TDC's global databank of business contacts had expanded to 600 000.
In addition, in 1999 the TDC produced more than 100 research publications; maintained an on-line product catalogue and published 16 trade magazines and numerous supplements which were distributed globally to promote sourcing of products and services from Hong Kong; handled more than 400 000 trade inquiries; and organised some 150 business training seminars and workshops for local SMEs. In view of the difficulties faced by the local companies during the economic downturn, the TDC continued to freeze its participation fees in 1999. It also enhanced services for SMEs, including publishing the SME Newsletter for distribution to more than 15 000 companies and introducing SME News Flash so that
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