Chamber seminar on doing business with Hong Kong

Doing business with Hong Kong will be the focus of a seminar at the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry on March 5 at 2 p.m.

Organised by the Chamber's internationalisation desk, the event is one in a series of seminars putting the spotlight on various markets in which Maltese entrepreneurs could do business.

Since accession to China, Hong Kong has managed to maintain its status as the trade hub and financial centre of the Far East. With the ever-growing importance of China, which recently took the spot as the world's foremost exporter, the importance of Hong Kong cannot be overstated.

The seminar, chaired by internationalisation desk member Tonio Casapinta, will be addressed by Alex Fong, chief executive officer of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, and Parliamentary Secretary for Small Businesses and Lands Jason Azzopardi. Mr Azzopardi established contact with Mr Fong in connection with the negotiations between Malta and Hong Kong on a double-taxation agreement and he is expected to touch on the agreement's ramifications.

It is expected that either HSBC Malta Ltd chief executive officer Alan Richards or head of commercial banking Richard Cottell will address participants. The bank, which still has a very strong presence in Hong Kong, the country to which it owes its origins, is an excellent first stop for companies wishing to do business there.

Former Central Bank governor Francis J. Vassallo, president of Francis J. Vassallo and Associates Ltd, has extensive experience in doing business in Hong Kong, and his company maintains an office in the territory. He will also draw connections between the financial regulations and their implications and opportunities.

The seminar should be of interest to all Maltese businesses doing business with or through Hong Kong or who are interested in doing so. The focus of the seminar will especially be to discuss the possibilities of combining the status of Hong Kong as a trading hub and financial centre with Malta's favourable position as a potential gateway to Europe, with relatively low-cost English-speaking service.