Hong Kong Enterprise is celebrating 35 years as Asia’s premier trade publication. From the beginning, the magazine published by the Trade Development Council (TDC) has paralleled the SAR’s economic growth. Today, its revamped Internet homepage complements the print version and offers overseas buyers a wealth of services and its advertisers a “total solution” package.

“This is more than just a celebration of 35 years of Hong Kong Enterprise,” observes Henry Ng, TDC’s senior publications manager. “Enterprise is a sourcing guide you can rely on, and for Hong Kong small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), it is still the most effective marketing tool.”

It is a view shared by buyers around the world. Gary Mason, purchasing director of Toronto-based Superex Canada Ltd, said: “With so many advertisements, sectioned into different categories, I have never gone through an edition without finding a few new things to enquire about.”

Raymond Brodeur, president of Busrel Inc of Canada, has been using Hong Kong Enterprise for over 30 years. “Hong Kong Enterprise remains a partner for us. Without it, we would not have been able to achieve the success we are comfortable with today.”

Many Hong Kong small enterprises have grown to medium or large companies with worldwide reputations as a result of exposure in the magazine.

An advertiser since the first issue, sales director Steven Fong of Kin Hip Metal & Plastic Fty Ltd, known for its Kinox-brand kitchenware, said: “In the early days, when we were not so well known, we received bundles of airmail from Europe and the US. There was no telex then, and we started from there. Now we are well established and have been in the magazine for so long we can’t afford to disappear.”

John Howard, public relations manager of PMS Int’l Group of London, says when PMS Int’l (Far East) Ltd opened in Hong Kong 10 years ago “we knew the first thing we had to do was advertise in Hong Kong Enterprise”. As a result, he says, the business has grown into a successful worldwide operation.

Today’s Hong Kong Enterprise offers “total solutions” for advertisers in a printed magazine complemented by a revamped online version, the Hong Kong Enterprise Internet (HKEI), re-launched this month.

The free-of-charge Web site offers registered members access to a powerful search engine, comprehensive categorisation of products and services and information from TDC’s enormous database of company and product contacts. Members can customise the homepage by typing in personal preferences, resulting in quicker access to preferred categories or information.

Through the online service, Mr Ng said, buyers can search quickly and efficiently for information through the Internet in tandem with the magazine.