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Mission to Japan

The timing of HKGCC's visit to Japan to promote Hong Kong's positioning in the region could not have been better. The world's second biggest economy is expected to see an end to price deflation by the end of the year and that its long-standing economic problems have eased. As a result, the International Monetary Fund has forecast that Japan's gross domestic product will rise to 4.5% in 2004, topping a previous estimate of 3.4%.

HKGCC last month concluded a six-day mission to Japan in partnership with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) and the Trade Development Council (TDC) office in Tokyo. During the mission, Chamber delegates met with Aso Taro, Minister for Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications in Tokyo. They also learned about the latest economic developments, discussed cooperation possibilities with individual Japanese businesspeople, and also met with the mayors of Osaka and Fukuoka.

Anthony Nightingale, HKGCC Chairman and mission leader, and Chamber CEO Dr Eden Woon gave speeches and press interviews in each of the four cities visited, between August 30 to September 3, on the positioning of Hong Kong within the Pearl River Delta. They also explained the benefits of CEPA to the Japanese, who were very interested in China and the role of Hong Kong in China business.

"The economy of China is playing a major role in Japan's economic recovery, which we saw first-hand in the cities we visited," Mr Nightingale said after returning to Hong Kong. "But we found a hazy understanding by those we met of the role of Hong Kong and little knowledge of CEPA. This was one of the reasons that the HKETO and TDC really wanted us to meet with our Japanese counterparts and explain how Hong Kong can continue to play a very important role for Japanese businesses interested in China.  We must thank the HKETO and TDC for carefully arranging the itinerary so that the delegation not only had a chance to study Japan in depth, but to promote Hong Kong's advantages."

Dr Woon added that Japanese SMEs, especially, would be able to benefit from partnerships with Hong Kong firms.

"The timing of our visit with the announcement of Phase II of CEPA allowed us to alert Japanese businessmen that market liberalization steps contemplated by China may find themselves included first in CEPA for Hong Kong," Dr Woon said. "Because of the size of the Japanese economy and the importance of Japanese technology and funds, we were glad to see that they are very interested in Hong Kong, the Pearl River Delta, and CEPA."

The HKGCC delegation was led by Chairman Anthony Nightingale and included 19 delegates, including Chamber CEO Dr Eden Y Woon and General Committee member Andrew Yuen.  The Chief Representative of HKTDC, Alex Fong, accompanied the delegation on the visit.

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