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adherence to stringent green and safety standards. The TDC's focus in new markets was primarily on pathfinding and image-building to identify business opportunities for Hong Kong SMEs.
With 15 product magazines and industry supplements and more than five million readers, the TDC is a major publisher. It also produced about 170 trade reports, sector-specific updates and business newsletters in 2008, providing timely market intelligence on Hong Kong, the Mainland and international markets. The TDC's website (http://www.hktdc.com) features about 700 000 registered buyers and more than 100 000 quality suppliers from Hong Kong, the Mainland and beyond. It also provides an online business matching platform for Hong Kong companies and overseas buyers.
Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation
The Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC) was created by statute in 1966 to protect Hong Kong exporters against non-payment risks arising from commercial and political events. Its capital is wholly owned by the HKSAR Government, which also guarantees its maximum contingent liability, standing at $15 billion in 2008. The ECIC is required to pursue a policy towards financial self-sufficiency.
The ECIC's total insured business in 2008 amounted to $46.4 billion, an increase of 10.7 per cent over 2007. Gross premium income grew by 4.2 per cent to $184.5 million. Cash claims payments increased by 30.8 per cent to $73.5 million.
To enhance its support for exporters during the financial turmoil since October 2008, the ECIC has launched several measures to assist exporters in meeting the challenges. These measures include waiver of annual policy fee for one year, free credit assessment services, higher capacity for six emerging markets at lower premium rates, ongoing cover on payment risks arising from buyers' failure to take delivery of goods, and shorter processing time for credit limit applications.
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
The Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation was established in 2001 to offer one-stop infrastructural support services to technology-based companies and activities in a synergetic manner, ranging from nurturing start-ups through incubation programmes, providing premises and services in the Science Park for applied research and development activities, creating and sustaining a design cluster in the InnoCentre, to offering land and premises in industrial estates for production.
The Science Park will occupy 22 hectares of land being developed in three phases. Phase 1 was officially opened in June 2002 and Phase 2 in September 2007, but construction of Phase 2 is still going on and is expected to be completed in stages between 2007 and 2010. The park provides an effective research and development environment and support services to facilitate collaboration and synergy among its tenants under four clusters electronics, information technology and telecommunications, biotechnology and precision engineering.
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