Europe CommitteeIncoming Visitors

AI is transforming drug discovery and diagnosis while accelerating advancement in biotechnology and genomics. This, in turn, is propelling Hong Kong's healthcare and biotech sectors forward, said Cherry Yeung, Senior Economist at Hong Kong Trade Development Council, during the Europe Committee's meeting on 2 September. 

She also highlighted that two-thirds of businesses involved in health tech and biotech in the Asia-Pacific region expect strong growth over the next two years. This is driven by ageing populations and trends such as the “vitamins and dietary supplements fourth meal,” which is becoming increasingly popular among younger, health-conscious Chinese consumers.

During the same meeting, C K Lee was elected Chairman, taking over from Alfonso Ballesteros, who stepped down after serving for two years. Stratos Pourzitakis, PhD and Bjoern Lindner were re-elected Vice Chairmen, while Philipp Hanusch was newly elected Vice Chairman.
 

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!