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Vivian Au

Hong Kong authorities are pressing on with efforts to attract European companies in the UK and France to set up in the city, despite heightened global geopolitical challenges.
The government’s Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES), created to attract firms in targeted fields, also confirmed it was approaching several top-tier pharmaceutical firms overseas, with at least one seeing promising results.
In an exclusive interview, OASES director general Peter Yan King-shun told the Post that some were keen on the potential for collaboration between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, which includes Macau and nine cities in Guangdong.
British-Swedish pharmaceutical multinational AstraZeneca had already established its Hong Kong headquarters, he said.
As part of his unit’s efforts to woo companies from other countries, Yan will be visiting the United Kingdom and France in the coming months.
“They seem to have more incentives for economic development to venture out more,” he said.
The UK had also been proactive with major officials visiting China, he added, and France had a good relationship with Beijing.

OASES, first announced by city leader John Lee Ka-chiu in his 2022 policy address, has been tasked with approaching at least 350 strategic enterprises by this year to encourage them to establish or expand their operations in Hong Kong.
Of the 66 that had arrived so far, Yan said four in five were from mainland China, including food delivery giant Meituan.
The high proportion of mainland companies had raised some concerns among the public about Hong Kong’s attractiveness to foreign investment.
But Yan said the 80:20 ratio of mainland to foreign arrivals was “a respectable result” given the current geopolitical environment and Hong Kong’s position in the continuing tussle between the US and China.
He acknowledged that OASES faced a bigger challenge in attracting leading overseas enterprises, as these companies had more to consider when deciding whether to establish operations in Hong Kong.
A government paper submitted to the legislature did not name some of the companies.
So far, however, none had withdrawn and all had chosen to have their international or regional headquarters or research and development centres in the city.
“We will try to increase the proportion of overseas enterprises,” he said.
Yan stressed that his unit was progressing well to meet the target of approaching at least 350 strategic companies. “We are optimistic,” he said.
Global economic uncertainties have increased since US President Donald Trump took office on January 20 and swiftly announced tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.
He subsequently delayed the tariffs on his two neighbours by 30 days, while Beijing complained to the World Trade Organization that his action against China was “discriminatory and protectionist”.
Trump has pushed ahead with more tariffs on specific items and most recently has described plans for “reciprocal tariffs” on all countries that tax US imports.
Yan noted that despite the escalating tension, Trump earlier said he hoped to visit China within his first 100 days in office, reflecting the priority he placed on benefits.
Pointing out that there had been competition between the two countries even during former president Joe Biden’s administration, Yan said: “We will maintain a wait-and-see approach for the US.”
One of the objectives of setting up OASES was to promote the advancement of science and technology in Hong Kong and achieve high-quality development.
This is part of a wider push to reinvigorate the city as an international hub following an exodus of companies during the Covid-19 pandemic and the uneven economic recovery.

Of the 66 companies that responded, 24 are in artificial intelligence and data science, 22 in life and health technology, 12 in advanced manufacturing and new-energy technology and the rest in financial technology.
Yan said Meituan had grown from having over 20 employees to about 200, most of whom were residents who had gained from the job opportunities and training.
Another mainland company, e-commerce giant JD.com, had bought an industrial building worth HK$1.8 billion (US$230 million) in Sha Tin for logistics purposes.
Giving some insights into his job, Yan said Hong Kong offered better opportunities than mainland cities such as Shanghai, as it could act as a “superconnector”.
It could be hard for foreign companies to move directly to Shanghai or Beijing. Besides, economic growth on the mainland was not as fast as it used to be.
In marketing Hong Kong, he added: “We are now comparing ourselves with Singapore instead of mainland cities.”
While both cities had their markets, companies that wanted to enter the mainland would choose Hong Kong, whereas Singapore had strong relationships in Southeast Asia, Yan said.
Apart from Europe, OASES was also focused on the Middle East and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s plan to improve trade and economic integration across Asia, Europe and Africa.
Yan said Hong Kong still had a lot of work to do to welcome Middle East Muslim communities, including having more halal food choices for them.


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OASES aims to attract more overseas firms as mainland companies make up most of the first 66 to arrive in Hong Kong


OASES aims to attract more overseas firms as mainland companies make up most of the first 66 to arrive in Hong Kong.


Exclusive | Hong Kong pushes on with efforts to woo top European firms despite challenges

OASES aims to attract more overseas firms as mainland companies make up most of the first 66 to arrive in Hong Kong