Italian Trade Commissioner Carlo Angelo Bocchi says Italian commercial links with Hong Kong remain strong.

The impact of Sars has not undermined Hong Kong's core strengths, the Italian Trade Commissioner, Carlo Angelo Bocchi, said recently.

"We are convinced that the impact [of Sars] has not changed the fundamental reasons for working with Hong Kong," said Mr Bocchi.

In response to demand from Italian companies, the Italian Trade Commission rolled-out a range of specialised services in early May, designed to keep business communication strong.

These include a Rome-based dedicated information desk email: infodesk.sars@ice.it and a toll-free enquiry hotline. Video-conferencing facilities have also been introduced, and plans are underway to install the system in other Italian Trade Commission offices in China and major offices in Rome and Milan.

Mr Bocchi said that Hong Kong was vital to Italian businesses. The 10,000 companies with commercial links with the territory was "strong evidence of the importance of Hong Kong for Italian business," he said

The initiative came ahead of one of Italy's leading trade events, the International Exhibition of Optics, Optometry and Ophthalmology in Milan (MIDO), in which 49 Hong Kong companies participated.

Exhibitors were pleased with the business opportunities generated at the fair. Stephen Cheung, Managing Director of Ocean Eyewear (Hong Kong) Limited, said he was delighted by the results. "We have received 50% more orders than last year, mainly from Germany, France, Greece and the Middle East." 

Buyers were equally pleased with the products on display at the fair, commending the MIDO organisers.

Olivier Bichon, a buying agent from the Netherlands, also expressed his confidence in the products shown by Hong Kong companies at the fair. "My contact with one Hong Kong company showed me it was very good at meeting customer needs. Products are of high quality and prices are good. I plan to make more Hong Kong contacts and work with them in the future."

After Italy, Hong Kong is the second largest exporter of spectacle frames in the world. In 2002, the total external trade between Hong Kong and Italy reached US$5 billion.