French Firms Play a Strong Role in Hong Kong

The first half of 2003 was a major ordeal for Hong Kong's economy as the SARS outbreak cut into retail sales, tourism and above all investors and consumer's confidence, interrupting a sharp rebound in economic activity. Nevertheless, a few months after this crisis, Hong Kong pulled through in good shape, with trade growth very robust and visitor arrivals climbing to historical peaks. Once again, the Hong Kong economy, which has faced numerous crisis since 1997, has demonstrated its unique resilience. Whoever would have bet against Hong Kong would have lost.

And indeed, the French business community did not bet against Hong Kong. According to a survey conducted by the French Trade Commission in November 2003, the number of "French firms" (including affiliates or representative offices of French companies and locally incorporated companies controlled by a French national) in Hong Kong increased in 2003 by 8 percent compared to the previous year to reach 450.

According to the annual survey by the Census and Statistic Department, the French business community is, by the number of firms, the sixth largest foreign business community in Hong Kong, behind Japan, the United States, Mainland China, the United Kingdom and Germany. The French business community in Hong Kong is also the largest French business community in continental Asia.

Most of these entities have been created in the last 20 years -- roughly a third of them by young French entrepreneurs. The majority of them are working not only on developing the local market but also on the natural hinterland of Hong Kong, namely southern China and, notably, the Guangdong Province. In addition, a significant number of these firms are utilizing Hong Kong as their regional centre. The "French firms," including affiliates or representative offices of French companies, play a significant weight in the Hong Kong economy, employing around 28,000 people, a little bit less than 1 percent of the working population.

French financial institutions are among the major foreign players that make up the financial centre of Hong Kong. The three largest French banks: BNP/Paribas, Crédit Agricole Indosuez, now merged with Crédit Lyonnais to form "CALYON" bank and Société Générale, have in Hong Kong a full range of activities: credit, trade finance, investment banking, brokerage, investment banking, asset management.

Two years ago, the largest French insurer AXA, which has more than 1 million clients in Hong Kong, decided to set up here a regional platform for life insurance. French building companies (Dragages, Vinci, Bachy-Soletanche...) have participated in many infrastructure or building projects here, including tunnels, bridges, railways or underground lines, and skyscrapers.

The international airport, the International Exhibition Centre, or the older, but very famous biggest escalator made by CNIM, are reminders of French firm_s participation in Hong Kong. We could also mention Alstom, which provides transport and power plant equipment, or Suez and Veolia which specialise in public utilities. And last but not the least, it is needless to mention the French luxury brands as you cannot go shopping in the Hong Kong malls without noticing them.

Le French May 2004

France's largest cultural festival in Asia kicks off in May and will showcase some of the country's finest artistes, writes SARAH GOETTELMANN

Le French May has come a long way since its inception in 1993, with the annual event achieving growing success and popularity. Today, the event is the largest French arts festival held in the Asia-Pacific region, and one of Hong Kong's major cultural events.

Organized by the Consulate General of France in collaboration with the Alliance Francaise, Le French May has presented more than 200 events over its 11-year history of the highest international standard. These span a wide spectrum of disciplines, including exhibitions (visual arts, photography, architecture, video), concerts (classical and modern music, rock, jazz, electronic music), performing arts (classical ballet, contemporary dance, street performance, theatre, mime) and cinema.

In line with previous editions, Le French May 2004 has lined up an exciting programme of events. As usual, the selection aims to achieve a balance between the presentation of French cultural heritage and contemporary creation to offer the best of French culture to the Hong Kong audience.

Among the 20 events to be presented this year, there will be a special focus on dance with three different companies. These include the contemporary dance performance "Rave" by Ballet de Lorraine, and for the first time ever in Hong Kong the festival will showcase the opera "Samson & Delilah" in a multimedia concept version. Other highlights include the film festival "Paris! Paris!", piano performances by the famous Augustin Dumay with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, as well as a wide spectrum of exhibitions covering painting, photography, design, and video installation.

While Le French May's audience has been growing and diversifying in the past few years, the ambition of this year's festival and those to come is to reach ever larger sections of the community. The 2004 programmes have been selected to make Le French May more accessible and enjoyable by people from all walks of life.

For more information on Le French May, visit www.frenchmay.com.

Sarah Goettelmann is the Cultural Attache of the Cultural Attache Consulate General of France in Hong Kong. She can be reached at, sarah.goettelmann@consulfrance-hongkong.org