HKTDC Signs MoU with Hokkaido Government

January 16, 2018

HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Hokkaido Government to strengthen bilateral economic co-operation and assist Hong Kong and Hokkaido enterprises in exploring overseas markets.

HKTDC Executive Director Margaret Fong said Hong Kong hoped to encourage more Hokkaido companies to make use of Hong Kong as an effective platform for promoting trade and investment in various sectors, in particular tourism, food and agriculture, as well as manufacturing.

She added: “Through signing the MoU, we seek to strengthen the ties between Hong Kong and Hokkaido, and connect Hokkaido companies with counterparts from Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and Southeast Asia.

“Hokkaido could also ride on other lifestyle-related trade fairs organised by the HKTDC, such as FILMART, to promote Hokkaido as the ideal shooting location for the entertainment industry, which will help boost inbound tourism at the same time.”

Japan is Hong Kong’s fourth largest export market and fourth largest source of imports. From January to November 2017, Hong Kong’s exports to Japan reached US$14.9 billion, while Hong Kong's imports from Japan amounted to US$29.4 billion.

Major export items from Hong Kong to Japan included telecom equipment & parts (18.9% share), semi-conductors, electronic valves & tubes, etc. (9.3%), toys, games & sporting goods (7.7%), computers (7.3%), and watches and clocks (4.2%).

Hong Kong was the largest export destination for Japanese foodstuffs. In the first 11 months of 2017, Japan’s exports of food amounted to US$1 billion, accounting for over 23.1% of Japan’s exports under the category.

As of 2017, 233 Japanese companies had set up regional headquarters in Hong Kong, while another 428 had regional offices there. In addition, Japan was the ninth largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Hong Kong, with a total stock of HK$220.7 billion as at end-2016. www.hktdc.org (ATI).