The first session of the HK - France Business Partnership Plenary was recently held in HK. Pictured with Former Prime Minister Jean Pierre Raffarin and Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR Donald Tsang are (left to right) HKTD executive director Fred Lam; chairman of the Hong Kong section, David Lie; chairman of the France section, Charles Henri Filippi; executive director of Ubifrance, Louis-Michel Morris (far right)

"This initiative is testimony of the importance our two regions offer each other, as well as the closeness of our relationship," said former Prime Minister and Member of the Senate of France, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, who led a delegation of 100 French companies to World SME Expo in Hong Kong (November 21-23)  where the French Agency for International Business Development (Ubifrance) had a particularly strong presence this year.

Initiated by Mr Woo, and Francois Loos, former Minister for Foreign Trade and now Minister for Industry, the Business Partnership will unite business leaders from both sides, and will promote trade, investment and business co-operation and understanding between French and Hong Kong companies, particularly small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Gateway role

David Lie, chairman of the Hong Kong section, said that companies coming to Hong Kong not only had access to Hong Kong's market, but also the market of the Pan- Pearl River Delta region.

"In the same way Hong Kong can offer a gateway to China for French companies, France can offer a gateway to Europe for Hong Kong companies," said chairman, France section, Charles-Henri Filippi.

Key industries were identified for closer collaboration, including creative industries, electronics, retail and distribution, and infrastructure and environmental protection.

On the same day as the Plenary, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Aram Hekimian, Deputy CEO of French company, Wavecom  and Dr Allan Wong, CEO, ASTRI (the government-backed Applied Science and Technology Research Institute).

Both parties hope to create a win-win situation by leveraging on each other's expertise to develop further products suited for Asian markets and reach a wider range of customers.

Members of the inaugural Hong Kong - France Business Partnership Plenary agreed on the need for concrete actions to sustain this initiative and to spread it to local SMEs in both economies.

The second plenary meeting will be held in 2006 in Paris.

Related links
World SME Expo
Wavecom   
ASTRI