More than 200 Hong Kong firms join import trade fair in Shanghai, hungry for expansion into mainland Chinese market
- Among participating Hong Kong enterprises this year, 47 are led by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the government’s official exhibition organiser
- Local companies express hope in attracting new clients and opportunities across border at fifth edition of the China International Import Expo
More than 200 Hong Kong firms have geared up for an import trade fair in mainland China, harbouring hopes of expanding into the vast market there after more than two years of economic disruptions on both sides amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Joining as many as 3,000 exhibitors, up 3.4 per cent in attendance from last year, the local firms were on Saturday touting products and services at the fifth edition of the China International Import Expo, an annual fair held at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai from Saturday to November 10.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah attended the opening ceremony of the expo online on Friday, where Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a televised speech pledging to further open the country’s markets, amid a slowing domestic economy battered by strict pandemic controls and tensions with the United States.
Among participating Hong Kong enterprises this year, 47 are led by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the government’s official exhibition organiser, which set up two pavilions at the fair to promote a wide array of products and services in areas such as food, financial services, infrastructure and construction, information and communication technologies, and innovative technologies.
One of them is Future Salad, a local food-tech company established in 2020 and dedicated to producing health food products.
Angus Au Hiu-fung, co-founder and chief marketing officer of the start-up, said it was the first time the company was joining the fair, with a three-member team sent to showcase their flagship product – a drinkable salad made by using natural raw materials and cutting-edge aerospace technology.
He said as the firm’s development in Hong Kong and Taiwan had increasingly matured, with annual business revenue of about HK$40 million (US$5.1 million) last year, the company intended to expand to the mainland market where there was an emerging demand for health food products.
