The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) today launched a Belt and Road Portal (www.beltandroad.hk) to help global businesses seize the opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative spearheaded by the Chinese government, which aims to promote economic cooperation among more than 60 economies in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Officiating at the launching ceremony of the new information platform attended by the Portal’s partners and guests from the business community, Vincent HS Lo, Chairman of the HKTDC, said: “Hong Kong can play a leading role as an information hub and an integrator under the [Belt and Road] Initiative.” He added that the Belt and Road Portal’s purpose was to provide information to help businesses make informed decisions while providing contacts for companies to find service providers to help them find relevant business opportunities.
The HKTDC would continue its efforts to help the business community by inviting more partners to join them in reaching out to explore and connect with opportunities in the Belt and Road countries. Mr Lo also encouraged more companies to use Hong Kong to explore and develop opportunities from the Belt and Road Initiative.
Available in English, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese, the Belt and Road Portal serves as a business facilitation and market intelligence platform to help businesses connect by leveraging Hong Kong’s position as a major financial, logistics, investment, trade and commercial hub. The Portal covers:
The Portal features a carefully selected and researched collection of related news and analysis, the most up-to-date official documents, information on investment projects on the Chinese mainland and in countries along the Belt and Road, as well as video features on a variety of topics related to the Initiative.
Another key feature under the section, “How Hong Kong Can Help” highlights Hong Kong’s unique capabilities in presenting a range of the city’s most reputed services providers in the infrastructure development, financial and professional sectors. The database’s search function enables businesses to connect with relevant counterparts based in Hong Kong that have been assessed and identified with the expertise and project experience relevant to the Belt and Road Initiative.
Businesses can also make use of the “Advisory Service” to apply online for a consultation with Hong Kong professional institutions and services providers covering the areas of accounting, finance and infrastructure development as well as legal aspects.
The Portal has been made possible with the support of leading professional institutions and services providers in Hong Kong, international media partners, as well as businesses and organisations with which the HKTDC has collaborated over the years to organise its diverse programme of trade and investment promotion events.
The Portal, which will be further enhanced and enriched as the Belt and Road Initiative develops, represents a first step for the HKTDC to establish Hong Kong as an information hub for the Belt and Road Initiative. At the same time, the HKTDC will raise the profile of Hong Kong and facilitate Belt and Road business opportunities. To this end, a high-level Belt and Road Summit will be co-organised with the Hong Kong Government on 18 May 2016 to bring more than 1,000 senior government officials, business leaders and experts to Hong Kong to exchange views and navigate a world of new opportunities through Hong Kong. More information about the Summit can be found on www.beltandroadsummit.hk.
The Belt and Road Portal: www.beltandroad.hk
Media Enquiries
Please contact the HKTDC's Corporate Communication Department:
Joe Kainz
Tel: (852) 2584 4216
Email: joe.kainz@hktdc.org
