The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) has promised to facilitate FDI in infrastructure, IT, and logistics in Andhra Pradesh, mainly in the development of the new capital at Amaravati and accelerating industrialisation in Visakhapatnam, the main commercial hub of the State.
A high-level team from the HKTDC, a statutory body committed to creating opportunities for Hong Kong’s businesses with 56 offices across the world, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, showcased the opportunities for investors in Hong Kong through collaborations.
HKTDC regional director (Southeast Asia and South Asia) Peter Wong told The Hindu on Thursday that during their first goodwill visit to Visakhapatnam, they found the response from the investors quite encouraging.
“We, being a major hub for export and import business, can facilitate investments in both Hong Kong and India,” he said.
Mr. Wong said they see a lot of opportunities in infrastructure, logistics, and IT in the Sunrise State.
Referring to Visakhapatnam Port, he said they were ready to assist the premier port in handling more export-import cargo.
India was Hong Kong’s seventh largest trading partner globally with bilateral trade of around US $ 26.9 billion in 2016 with a growth rate of 13.4% over the previous year. Similarly, India was Hong Kong’s seventh largest source of imports in the first seven months of 2017.
‘Friendly tax system’
Hong Kong’s imports from India expanded 23.3% year-on-year to $8.4 billion during the period. Mr. Wong said India was the third largest export market for Hong Kong in the first seven months of 2017.
Hong Kong’s total exports to India experienced strong growth of 40.2% year-on-year to $11.9 billion during the period.
He said built on a strong legal system and world-class financial infrastructure, Hong Kong is the ideal partner for Indian companies to explore partnership opportunities ranging from international trading, sourcing and manufacturing to fund-raising.
HKTDC Consultant for South Asia, Rajesh Bhagat, who was part of the delegation, told The Hindu that their tax system was totally business-friendly with no GST and a flat 16.5% corporate tax and easy entry and exit policy to the investors.
