Industry leaders from Hong Kong and Leshan — a city in Sichuan province — sealed a slew of agreements on Monday to boost Leshan’s growth in financial insurance, cultural tourism, energy conservation, and environmental protection using capital from Hong Kong.
The high-profile “Invest Leshan” Hong Kong Economic and Trade Cooperation Promotion Conference unveiled 24 major projects totaling 91.95 billion yuan ($12.61 billion), spanning fields such as crystalline silicon photovoltaics, the low-altitude economy and nuclear technology applications.
Two memorandums of understanding and three collaboration agreements were signed at the promotion conference, involving Hong Kong-based China Taiping Insurance (HK) Co Ltd, Phoenix Media Group, Hong Kong Tongluowan Group, and China Everbright Environment Group Ltd, among other parties from both cities hoping to leverage Leshan’s rich cultural heritage and its robust modern industrial momentum for new business opportunities.
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Addressing the event, Zhao Bo, Party secretary of the Leshan Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, said that Leshan and Hong Kong have long been developing closer ties.
He said that 29 Hong Kong-funded enterprises have invested and expanded their presence in Leshan, accounting for 42 percent of all foreign-invested enterprises in the city, and positioning Hong Kong as Leshan’s biggest cross-border trade partner.
Hong Kong’s innovation and technology sector, coupled with its superconnector role between Chinese mainland cities and global markets, make it an ideal destination for the outbound expansion of Leshan’s enterprises, said Zhao.
Leshan’s development is gathering pace amid the country’s new industrial boom, supported by its development road map in key industrial areas led by silicon photovoltaics and green chemicals — two of the city’s 100-billion-yuan industrial clusters. Other clusters include those for nuclear technology applications, food and beverages, equipment manufacturing, the low-attitude economy, and new energy storage, Zhao added.
The city’s promising outlook is attracting many enterprises to establish a presence in Leshan, Zhao said.
Lee Shing-kan, executive director of Xinyi Glass Holdings Ltd — a world-leading integrated glass manufacturer based in Hong Kong — said at the conference that his company plans to start integrating Leshan’s photovoltaic offerings into its renewable energy development chain.
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He also said that his company is interested in establishing partnerships with Leshan’s universities for talent cultivation.
Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com
