114 Commerce and Industry
Investment promotion activities included sponsoring and participating in several major international conferences. Major events sponsored in 2005 included the 38th International General Meeting of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) in June, where the speakers included China's Vice-Premier, Ms Wu Yi, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, and the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) Conference 2005 in October which attracted over 800 senior executives from the broadcasting and telecommunications industries. Other major events supported by Invest Hong Kong during the year were the 3G World Congress and Exhibition and the 8th Annual Global Conference of The Competitiveness Institute.
Invest Hong Kong also organised 10 joint investment promotion programmes with major Mainland provinces and cities, including Guangdong, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, Fujian and Shanghai. These promotions targeted prospective investors in Milan, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Tokyo and Osaka.
In addition, it arranged 21 seminars in 17 Mainland cities in 2005, and received 13 incoming delegations from the Mainland to promote Hong Kong as the ideal springboard for Mainland enterprise to expand overseas. Invest Hong Kong also launched a revised simplified Chinese website targeting the Mainland market, which provides online information on Hong Kong's business environment and the procedure for setting up operations in Hong Kong.
Customs and Excise Department
The Customs and Excise Department is responsible for enforcing various trade control systems, including the certification of origin system, the textiles import and export control system, the strategic commodities control system and the import and export declaration system. These systems aim to protect and facilitate legitimate trade. The department is also responsible for enforcing the criminal law for the protection of copyright and trade marks, as well as enforcing consumer protection legislation relating to the safety of various commodities, the integrity of weights and measures and the marking of precious metals. In addition, to ensure that Hong Kong has an adequate supply of rice, an essential foodstuff for the local population, at a reasonably stable price, the department monitors the local stock of rice. The department has also taken on the responsibility of enforcing the certification scheme for rough diamonds. Its aim is to stop trade in 'conflict diamonds' from fuelling armed conflicts, activities of rebel movements and the illicit proliferation of armaments.
Intellectual Property Department
The Intellectual Property Department runs the Trade Marks, Patents, Designs and Copyright Licensing Bodies Registries, advises on policy and legislation related to intellectual property protection, provides civil intellectual property legal advice to the Government, and promotes public awareness of and respect for intellectual property rights.