ENG-2007 — Page 145

Chart 5

Commerce and Industry | 105

Number of Hong Kong Enterprise Groups (HKEGs) with Inward Direct Investment by Employment Size in end-2006

No. of HKEGS

8 000

7 000

6 034

6 000

5 000

4 000

3 000

2 160

2 000

1 000

649

663

136

50

0

Less than 20

20-49

50 - 99

100 - 499

500 - 999

1 000 - 2 999

Employment Size

20

3 000 or more

According to the Census and Statistics Department, as at June 1, 2007, there were 6 440 regional headquarters and regional offices in Hong Kong set up by companies outside Hong Kong compared to 6 354 in 2006.

The Institutional Framework

Commerce, Industry and Tourism Branch

The Commerce, Industry and Tourism Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) is responsible for the formulation and coordination of policies and strategies in relation to Hong Kong's external commercial relations, the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), tourism, investment promotion, convention and exhibition services, intellectual property protection, industry support, trade facilitation, consumer protection, competition, postal services

meteorological services.

and

It also oversees the development of policies and programmes for the industrial and trade sectors, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as the promotion of services industries. The branch is assisted by a number of departments, namely the Trade and Industry Department, the Invest Hong Kong, the Customs and Excise Department, the Intellectual Property Department, the Post Office and the Hong Kong Observatory. It is also supported by a network of overseas Economic and Trade Offices outside Hong Kong.