Irish software companies can use Hong Kong as a services platform for tapping into the fast-growing China market, according to the director for Asia/Middle East of Enterprise Ireland, Michael Garvey.

“In terms of convenience, no place can beat Hong Kong for doing business,” said Mr Garvey, who has worked in several locations around Asia since 1983. “There are no restrictions, it is the freest economy in the world and services are excellent. We recently relocated our Asian headquarters to Hong Kong from Singapore because north Asia is really where the growth prospects are at the moment. From Hong Kong we are responsible for all the Asian offices - from Riyadh to Beijing to Sydney and it seemed the ideal choice to locate our hub office.”

Enterprise Ireland is a government-sponsored organisation that assists Irish small and medium-sized companies in developing international trade. The organisation helps start-up companies with training, financing, building factories and venture capital, as well as acting as a consultant for their first step into a new market.

“Ireland is actually the number one exporter of software in the world. This is not only surprising but generating a lot of interest in the Chinese mainland right now,” Mr Garvey said. “Most of our clients fall under the international services/software category and there is huge opportunity for growth in the software industry in north Asia.