Hong Kong says US trade fair a big hit

Over 900 business-matching sessions arranged.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council said over 3,000 businesspeople from the United States took part in last week's "Think Asia, Think Hong Kong," the biggest Hong Kong promotion ever organized in the US, and one of HKTDC’s largest international campaigns since its establishment in 1966.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was guest of honor during the event and was among the more than 200 senior business leaders from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland in New York. The promotion was also held in Los Angeles.

Think Asia, Think Hong Kong highlighted Hong Kong's advantages for American business seeking opportunities in Asia, particul emphasized in his New York address. He noted that there are already more than 1,300 US companies in Hong Kong.

"These companies know that a presence in Hong Kong is a ticket to the Chinese and Asian markets. They know that if their products or services sell well in Hong Kong, they will also sell well throughout China, a market with 1.3 billion potential customers."

"When we think about doing business with Asia, we have to think about Hong Kong. Because Hong Kong is, in many ways, our gateway to the continent," said Francisco Sanchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, US Department of Commerce, who also spoke at the New York opening.