Europe CommitteeIncoming Visitors

The Region of Murcia, which occupies just 2.2% of Spain’s land area, accounts for over 20% of the country’s fruit and vegetable exports. Remarkably, a quarter of these exports are classified as organic. This output is all the more impressive given the region's arid climate, winning it the hard-earned title of the "Garden of Europe."

These were some of the fascinating insights shared by Sara Rubira Martinez, Secretary for Agriculture of the Region of Murcia, during her visit to the Chamber on 1 September. Accompanied by Javier Serra Guevara Serra, Deputy Consul General and Senior Trade Commissioner, Trade Commission of Spain, and a delegation from Murcia, they were welcomed by Chamber CEO Patrick Yeung Yeung and Europe Committee Chairman Alfonso Ballesteros.

Located in southeast Spain, Murcia is also a leader irrigation and wastewater treatment, recycling 98% of its wastewater primarily for agriculture – a technological excellence that it is happy to share with other areas. 

Yeung briefed the visitors on Hong Kong’s business environment and competitive advantages, highlighted in the Chamber’s recent Asian Cities Internationality Index, and the just released Global Innovation Index, in which the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster was ranked first. He emphasized Hong Kong’s openness to collaborating with Spain, and encouraged more companies and talent to participate in the development of the Northern Metropolis.
 

On 14 August, Chamber members had the privilege of hearing from Mary Lau, Executive Director at the Hong Kong Business Ethics Development Centre of the ICAC. We delved into Hong Kong’s probity landscape and explored how both public and private sectors can join forces to champion business integrity. We also learnt that, according to ICAC’s annual survey, the public has zero tolerance towards corruption. 

We then took our learning to another level with a fascinating tour of the video interview room and identification parade suite, stepping into the roles of suspects and witnesses, which added a unique twist to our journey. 

The day wrapped up with a look around the Exhibition Hall on site, where we travelled back through 50 years of Hong Kong's anti-corruption milestones, followed by a stop at ICAC’s Café “1974” for great coffee and conversation!
 

It’s always a pleasure to welcome visitors from around the world, especially those who share our passion for promoting trade and collaboration. Today, we hosting Dr Eric Zhang, Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Sweden, and Björn Segerblom, Honorary Chairman and Hong Kong Representative, for an interesting discussion.

Our Chairman Agnes Chan, CEO Patrick Yeung, and Chairman of the Europe Committee Alfonso Ballesteros exchanged ideas on how our chambers could work together to revitalize activities and ties between Hong Kong and the Nordic region. Eric explained that, despite having a population of just 10 million people, Sweden punches far above its weight as it is a global leader in innovation, tech, and life sciences.

Agnes also highlighted HKGCC’s work and suggested opportunities for collaboration, from a potential MOU to inviting Swedish speakers for our International Business Summit on 9 December, both in person or virtually.