The "Hong Kong-Guangdong Business Forum in Finland 2006" will be held in Helsinki, Finland on November 8th this year. Jointly organised by the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Forum aims to expand the scope of trade and economic exchanges and co-operation, as well as to promote friendship among the business and financial communities in Hong Kong, Guangdong and Finland.

The Forum is the first major business event organised jointly by the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Trade Development Council in Finland. The purpose of the Forum is to give the Finnish business and financial communities a better understanding of the economic development of Guangdong and Hong Kong as well as their favourable investment environment. It would highlight the achievements of the regional co-operation of the Great Pearl River Delta (including Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau) and the Pan-Pearl River Delta and the prospects of development, with a view to promote the mutual understanding and the economic and trade co-operation between the enterprises of Guangdong, Hong Kong and those of Finland. Guangdong will present projects ranging from communication technology, biological technology, environmental protection, machinery, architectural design and lifestyle brand design as well as a wide range of investment projects. Individual meetings and advisory exchanges among all attendees will be arranged as well.

With its sustained and rapid economic development since the opening-up of China's mainland, Guangdong has become the leading province in terms of economic capacity and external trade and the most attractive destination for foreign investment in China. In 2005, Guangdong's GDP surged to US$ 264.844 billion, up by 12.5% against 2004, accounting for 11.9% of China's national total. The GDP per capita reached US$ 2,882. The total value of export-import reached US$ 427.98 billion. The actual absorption of foreign direct investment amounted to US$ 12.36 billion, representing 20.5% of the national total. Guangdong is in the middle stage of industrialization, and has great advantages in nine pillar industries. In 2005, the total industrial production value of electronic communication, electric machinery, and petrochemical industry accounted for 50.8% of the provincial total. The three traditional industries, namely, textile & garment, food & beverage and building materials, and the three promising industries, automobile, medicine and paper-making are all taking on a good momentum of development. With comprehensive infrastructure and advanced transportation and communication networks, Guangdong is making efforts to provide an investment environment with high efficiency and low cost for the foreign investors.

Guangdong has been paying much attention to promote economic and trade links with Finland. In recent years, the mutual economic and trade cooperation have made great achievement. In 2005, the import and export volume between Guangdong and Finland reached US$ 880 million. Up to the end of 2005, the cumulative contracted value of foreign direct investment from Finland amounted to US$ 141 million, while the actual input of Finnish direct investment accumulated to US$ 113 million. Most of the Finnish enterprises investing in Guangdong, like Nokia, Perlos, Stora Enso have gained attractive rewards.

Situated to the south of Guangdong, Hong Kong is an international financial, trading, transportation, tourism and logistics hub in the Asia-Pacific region. Apart from having a well-established legal system, sound financial system and clean government, Hong Kong is renowned for its duty-free port with perfect infrastructure, free flow of capital, information and goods. Hong Kong also offers a highly-skilled workforce and world-class professional expertise across a wide spectrum of business fields. Moreover, Hong Kong is one of the gateways to China, serving the strategic role as the intermediary platform for China to enter the international market. All these advantages, together with the huge market potential of the hinterland, have made Hong Kong the most preferred destination for investment. More than 3,700 multinational companies have set up their regional headquarters or operations in Hong Kong. Among the top 100 banks in the world, almost 70 of them have operations in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has strong economic links with Finland. In 2005, Finland was Hong Kong's large trading partner in the world. In 2005, the import and export volume between Hong Kong and Finland reached US$1,500 million. Most of the Finnish enterprises investing in Hong Kong such as Nokia, Kone and Finnair have gained ample rewards.

Since the reform and opening-up of China's mainland, Hong Kong and Guangdong have always complemented each other in economic co-operation. Following the implementation of CEPA (Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement) and the launch of regional cooperation in the Pan Pearl River Delta area, the co-operation between Guangdong and Hong Kong has been further promoted. The Great Pearl River Delta will develop itself as one of the most prosperous and robust economic centre in the world. On one hand, Guangdong will be one of the most important manufacturing bases of the world; on the other hand, Hong Kong will become a major international service centre for logistics and finance in particular. Being the core of Great Pearl River Delta, the Pan Pearl River Delta, covering nine provinces in the South and Southwest of China will surely provide enormous business opportunities for the foreign investors.

In order to create new opportunities for Hong Kong, Guangdong and Finland enterprises, the Forum provides a platform to foster mutual understanding and economic co-operation. We sincerely welcome the friends from Finnish business and financial communities to secure this golden occasion for further development.