Royal Ten Cate's chairman Loek de Vries (right) at the opening of its company's regional HQ with InvestHK's Simon Galpin

Royal Ten Cate's business with Hong Kong began 27 years ago. "We decided to upgrade it to a regional HQ because of Hong Kong's very good geographical location, excellent physical and financial infrastructure, common law legal system and outstanding human capital," said chairman of Royal Ten Cate Loek de Vries.

"We also recognise that Hong Kong is a value-added service centre for international companies seeking to enter the mainland market," Mr de Vries added.  

Royal Ten Cate intends to invest up to Euros 60 million in Hong Kong and the mainland. "We are planning to set up three more plants in southern China," he said.

The company currently has production plants and sales offices in northern China, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Japan. Its Hong Kong office will coordinate all the business activities of the group in Asia Pacific and function as a strategic unit to expand productions and marketing activities in the mainland.

Simon Galpin associate director-general of investment production at InvestHK, a government agency tasked with attracting inward investment, said "with China's accession to WTO, the retail market is expected to surge offering additional opportunities to retailers especially those with regional HQs in Hong Kong."

Related links:
InvestHK  www.investhk.gov.hk
Royal Ten Cate  www.tencate.com