The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Sydney, Steve Barclay, on Thursday launched the inaugural “2010 Hong Kong Week in Sydney” with a series of diversified events.

Barclay believes the Hong Kong Week marks an important milestone for the HKETO, the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the office.

“Our role is to continually grow the already strong ties Hong Kong enjoys with Sydney and New South Wales, as well as Australia as a whole. So the start of Hong Kong Week on September 3 will be an important milestone for us,” he told reporters.

Barclay said Hong Kong had long and close ties with Sydney and the two cities are similar in many ways. “Both Hong Kong and Sydney are financial and business hubs, both are truly multi- cultural and cosmopolitan, and both share their love for the arts and entertainment.” “Hong Kong continues to be a global success story and the Hong Kong Week gives us an opportunity to share that story with the people of Sydney. It’s a chance to experience our vibrant creativity, our dynamic, cosmopolitan lifestyle, the vast business opportunities and the fine dining experience Hong Kong has to offer,” he said.

The Hong Kong Week in Sydney runs from September 3 to 12, comprises the Opening Reception cum Hong Kong Film Night; the Chinese Paintings & Photography Exhibition by Hong Kong Artists; a Food and Wine Appreciation Dinner; a business seminar “Hong Kong: Your Dynamic Business Platform”; the Jadeworld Carnival; and the “Way In Network and TVBA Salute to Hong Kong” Finale Ball.

Bonnie Shek, Director of Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong Trade Development Council said the dynamic business seminar will be an ideal platform for capturing business opportunities in Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

The seminar will provide an update on economic trade environment in Chinese mainland and highlight the business opportunities Hong Kong offers.

“It’ll show the Australian companies how to utilize Hong Kong as a business platform to assist their business growth, whether selling, sourcing products and services or attracting investment from Hong Kong /China,” she said. The “2010 Hong Kong Week in Sydney” is jointly organized by HKETO (Sydney), Hong Kong Australia Business Association (New South Wales Chapter), TVB (Australia), Way In Network and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

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The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) Wednesday decided to impose an anti-dumping duty (AD) on the imports of Chinese electric blankets, according to reports from Washington.

USITC commissioners voted unanimously to slap duties on the imports, which include finished and unassembled woven electric blankets. The highest duty rate can reach 174.85 percent.

The move comes months after the US Department of Commerce determined to implement AD on imports of some $55.92-million woven electric blankets from China, saying that the country’s domestic electric blanket manufacturers are materially injured by the competitiveness of Chinese products.

Chinese exporters of eletric blankets have a profit rate of roughly 5 percent. If the new measure is indeed implemented, they (Chinese exporters) will be forced to withdraw from the American market, according to an industry insider.

The Sino-US trade relations have become of great importance ever since the financial crisis broke out. The Ministry of Commerce (MOC)said both nations need a better understanding of each other’s roles in the international trade market

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Nation gets top ranking in survey of world’s emerging economies

BEIJING – China ranks No 1 among 27 emerging economies due to its huge consumer market and rapid economic growth, according to the Emerging Markets Opportunity Index released by US accounting firm Grant Thornton.

The index takes account of key factors such as the size of the economy, wealth, involvement in world trade, growth potential and levels of human development.

China scores 454 points, double the India’s score (222 points) in second place and almost triple that of Russia (163 points) in third place.

“China leads the way thanks to the country’s huge consumer market, an increasingly open economy and extremely rapid trade growth, which offer a myriad of business opportunities for potential investors,” said Xia Zhidong, partner and vice-chairman of Grant Thornton China.

According to figures from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, China attracts the most foreign investment among the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries.

Last year, the inward foreign direct investment (FDI) flow to China was $95 billion, followed by Russia at $39 billion and with India and Brazil posting $35 billion and $26 billion respectively.

“In the future, more opportunities will lie in improved infrastructure, enhanced human capital, investments in R&D and the increasing middle-class base,” Xia said.

However, a lack of skilled labor, increasing labor costs and the low per capita gross domestic product (GDP) pose major challenges to foreign investment in China.

According to Grant Thornton China, 23 percent of Chinese enterprises said they faced a shortage of skilled labor, higher than the global average of 21 percent.

In the top five places of the index, BRIC countries take four positions.

India, although a long way behind, boasts a huge consumer market and a booming services industry, which accounts for around 55 percent of GDP, compared to 40 percent in the Chinese mainland.

Russia, in third place, has a much smaller consumer base than either China or India, but it boasts a per capita GDP which is more than double that of China, and more than five times as high as India. In addition, its high-level per capita consumption is close to the levels of the major cities of Europe’s advanced economies.

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