ENG-2006 — Page 136

108 Commerce and Industry

Invest Hong Kong

Invest Hong Kong is responsible for spearheading the Government's efforts to attract inward investment. Its head office in Hong Kong works closely with the Economic and Trade Offices and consultants engaged overseas to offer solution- oriented investment promotion, facilitation and after-care services to ensure that foreign companies have the support required to establish or expand their operations in the HKSAR, and on the Mainland and in the Asia-Pacific region through Hong Kong. Invest Hong Kong also provides information to help companies make informed investment decisions on setting up regional headquarters and regional offices in Hong Kong.

During the year, Invest Hong Kong assisted a record 246 foreign, Mainland and Taiwan companies to set up or expand operations in Hong Kong - a healthy increase of 6 per cent over 2005. The total amount of investment generated exceeded $10.24 billion. A total of 3 092 new jobs were created in 2006 while these companies expect to create an additional 4 743 jobs in the next two years.

Investment promotion activities included sponsoring and participating in major international conferences or business events to raise Hong Kong's profile among key target markets and to identify new prospective investors in Hong Kong. In 2006, these included Annual Asia Pacific Bond Congress, MIPIM Asia, and the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) Annual Convention, CNBC Asia Business Leaders Awards and the 3G World Congress and Mobility Marketplace.

In 2006, Invest Hong Kong organised eight joint investment promotion activities with major Mainland provinces and cities, including Guangdong, Fujian, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Jiangmen and Foshan. These promotions targeted prospective investors in Paris, Philadelphia, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Seoul, Florence, San Diego and Düsseldorf. All of these seminars were well received.

Invest Hong Kong continued to actively promote to Mainland enterprises Hong Kong's unique advantages as a springboard to expand overseas. During the year, it arranged 17 seminars in 13 Mainland cities. The department also allocated additional resources to improve its coverage in the Mainland markets. Investment promotion units were set up in the Beijing Office and the newly established Economic and Trade Offices in Chengdu and Shanghai. The team in the Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong was also expanded.

Customs and Excise Department

The Customs and Excise Department is responsible for enforcing various trade control systems aimed at protecting and facilitating trade. These include the certification of origin system, the textiles import and export control system, the strategic commodities control system, and the import and export declaration system. The department is also responsible for enforcing the criminal laws that protect 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, the department monitors the local stock of rice to ensure that Hong Kong has an adequate supply of this essential