Chamber Director Dr Eden Woon led a 17-member study mission to Northeast China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from July 8 to 13.

Rich in natural resources, northeast China is also home to established heavy industries supported by a developed transportation network, and a skilled yet low-cost workforce. Its geographical location allows commodities to be shipped by sea via Dalian and exported by land via border cities of Heilongjiang to Russian ports such as Vladivostok and then onto Europe. Such advantages translate into enormous commercial and trade opportunities for Hong Kong businesses, Mainland officials told the delegation.

Heilongjiang offers strong tourism potential, both in sightseeing tours in summer and ice tours in winter. The province is also developing its organic agriculture industry and accelerating its drive into the chain management of production, processing, distribution and delivery of produce.

Given its 3,000 km border with Russia, Heilongjiang is also ideally poised to develop border trade through its 25 first-category border control points.

During their visit to Pyongyang, the delegation was received by Minister of Finance of DPRK Mun Il Bong and Vice Chairman of the Korea Council for the Promotion of International Trade (KOMT) Kim Jong Gi.

KOMT updated the delegates on the history and recent developments of the country's trade and investment sectors. He expressed his hopes that trade and economic cooperation between North Korea and other regions, especially Hong Kong, could be expanded. DPRC officials were also candid about the problems the country faces.

With the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, North Korea lost its barter trade avenue and has since struggled to get along with the world free market economy given its severe foreign exchange shortage, they said. Recent droughts and natural disasters have devastated its agricultural production, but officials told the delegation that the situation was improving.

The North Korea government is seeking foreign trade and investment and will grant concessions to projects that help solve its food and technology shortages, officials said. Given its natural resources, low labour costs, the need for building infrastructure and the early development of the market, the delegation said that they felt North Korea warranted further study.