Mainland companies eager to expand their operations in Hong Kong are no longer only from the industrial sector. For professional service companies, including those providing financial and legal consultations, are also moving into Hong Kong.

The SAR government's investment promotion ambassador Invest Hong Kong (IHK) said yesterday that a growing number of professional service providers are entering the market here.

"They (professional consultation firms) may not decide to set up shop or expand operations in Hong Kong right away, but we definitely receive more enquiries, including phone calls, on expansion questions," associate director-general of IHK's investment promotion Tsang Oi-lin said on the sideline of a seminar on the investment environment for Guangdong firms.

About 100 delegates from Guangdong, exploring ways to use Hong Kong as a platform to expand their businesses overseas, attended the seminar that was organized jointly by IHK and the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Guangdong Province.

IHK director-general Mike Rowse said Hong Kong's investment environment was ideal for Guangdong firms' expansion.

"Hong Kong is an international financial and business centre with strong links with the mainland. Our city is the ideal platform where Guangdong enterprises can plan and execute their global business activities. IHK will continue to work closely with Guangdong firms to help them invest in Hong Kong and to enter the global arena," Rowse said.

With the aim of helping mainland companies take advantage of Hong Kong's attractive business environment and the opportunities it offers, IHK expanded its investment promotion team and set up a service centre in Guangzhou late last month.

Thanks to Hong Kong's geographical location at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta it is perfectly suited to trade with Guangdong and the rest of the mainland, Financial Secretary Henry Tang said, addressing the 2006 Business Fair for Hong Kong-Guangdong Economic, Trade and Technological Cooperation.

The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), Tang said, has made significant contribution to Hong Kong's economy over the past three years.

It has given Hong Kong additional and exclusive access to the mainland market and "has created positive effects on Hong Kong's labour market. By the end of last year, as many as 30,000 jobs had been created by CEPA", he said.

Editor: Yan