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Hong Kong to open offices in Singapore and Australia
Hong Kong is set to strengthen her economic and trade links in the Asia Pacific region when two new Hong Kong Economic and Trade offices (HKETOs) are opened in Singapore and Australia in the next couple of months.
The HKETO in Singapore will be headed by Mr Thomas Tso Man-tai who is scheduled to assume duties on August 18 while the office in Australia, which will be located in Sydney, will be headed by Mr Philip Chok Kin-fun who is due to take up his position on October 1.
Mr Tso joined the Administrative Service in 1975 and rose to his present rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B last year. He currently holds the post of Deputy Secretary for the Civil Service.
In the early years of his career, Mr Chok served in the Executive Officer and Trade Officer Grades and was transferred to the Administrative Service as Administrative Officer Staff Grade C in 1983. He was appointed to his present rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B in 1993 and is now serving as the Deputy Director of Home Affairs.
The opening of the HKETOs in Singapore and Australia will bring Hong Kong's overseas offices to a total of ten. The eight existing HKETOs are located respectively in Washington, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, London, Brussels, Tokyo and Geneva.
The main functions of the new HKETOs are to strengthen Hong Kong's trade and economic links with Singapore and with Australia; to promote and safeguard Hong Kong's trade, economic and related interests in those two countries; and to promote Hong Kong as a business and financial hub in the Asia Pacific region.
In making the announcement today, the Secretary for Trade and Industry, Mr Chau Tak-hay, said with the development of closer economic and trade links between Hong Kong and other economies in the Asia Pacific region, and with Hong Kong's increasingly active participation in regional economic co-operation forums, there was a need to establish more HKETOS in the region.
"The Asia Pacific region includes some of the world's most dynamic and fastest growing economies. Our trade with the region now accounts for some 80 per cent of our total trade," he said.