Mainland Chinese firms at the cutting edge of technology are increasingly using Hong Kong as a “strategic adaptation ground” to transform themselves into multinational companies, the finance chief has said.
Following his trip to attend a forum and visit tech companies in Shanghai and Nanjing last week, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Sunday that mainland tech companies expanding into international markets had moved beyond simply exporting products.
“By bringing in international capital and talent, and by building brands and sales networks, they are turning overseas operations into a new engine of growth,” Chan wrote in his weekly blog.
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He added that “executives have stated that their goal is to become multinational corporations, connecting globally in terms of markets, capital structure, governance, talent and even research and development and supply chains”.
Chan said that many mainland firms no longer picked Hong Kong solely for fundraising but as a “strategic adaptation ground” for international expansion.
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Such moves reflected their trust in the city’s international investor network and recognition of its role as a platform connecting Chinese technological innovation with global capital, he added.