Updates from Hong Kong: March 2023
The Hong Kong Tourism Board recently launched, Hello Hong Kong, a US$ 128 million campaign to help kickstart the embattled tourism industry. The campaign is giving away 500,000 air tickets along with consumption vouchers to entice visitors to the city.
Hong Kong has now lifted all inbound COVID travel restrictions and made mask wearing optional, and activities around town have visibly picked up. Cathay Pacific recently reported that they crossed the 1 million passenger mark in January, its best month since the pandemic started.
The month of March is looking to be a busy one as numerous large-scale events are happening around town. Clokenflap, one of Hong Kong’s biggest annual music and arts festivals is back and will feature many top international artists. Art Basel recently announced that 170 galleries have confirmed their participation at this year’s show. The show in Hong Kong, which is the largest art exhibition in Asia, will take place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 23- 25. At the end of March, the Hong Kong Rugby 7s is back.
Greeting from our Senior Commercial Officer, Bradley Harker
Last week, Hong Kong dropped the last vestiges of its Covid-measures by removing its mask mandate for both indoor and outdoor areas. After 3 years or 959 days, it is so refreshing to be able to walk around without a mask on!
With Hong Kong now fully open, we are seeing a significant increase in visitors to at large conferences. This is a huge improvement from the time I started my posting here in 2019. As you will see below, our team here is very much focused on a full slate of programs as we head into Spring!
With the weather still cool, now is a great time to plan your trip to Hong Kong. For those in U.S., keep an eye on the giveaway page for free airline tickets from the United States to Hong Kong starting sometime May.
Welcome, new Commercial Specialist, Michael Wajntal
Michael Wajntal has recently joined our team as Commercialist Specialist.
Originally from France, Michael grew up in Hong Kong and was previously the Head of Marketing and Operations at Triple King Co. Ltd, a trading company that specializes in sourcing for European retailers.
Michael holds a Master of Business degree from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia specializing in Risk Management. He speaks French, English, Cantonese and Mandarin fluently.
He will be leading the Design, Construction and Infrastructure, Logistics, Marine Technology, Transportation (Aviation, Automotive) and Heavy Industries (Equipment and Machinery, Industrial Materials and Chemicals) sectors. Drop him a line at Michael.Wajntal@trade.gov if he is your sector specialist.
Upcoming Commercial Service Events
Thinking of investing in the U.S.? Join our Select USA Investment Summit, May 1-4, 2023.
If you are considering investing in the U.S., we are recruiting delegates to join our 2023 Select USA Investment Summit that will happen between May 1-4, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
Past Investment Summit participants have announced more than $103.6 billion in U.S. investment projects within five years of attending the Investment Summit, supporting 167,890 U.S. jobs. The Summit will match over 1,200 investors with hundreds of different states, industry experts, and third-party providers to explore investment projects and resources.
If you are considering joining our 2023 delegation, please submit your application here. For more information, please contact Boris Meyer at boris.meyer@trade.gov
Meet Senior Commercial Officer, Bradley Harker at Tradewinds in Bangkok, Thailand – March 13-15, 2023.
Tradewinds is one of the largest trade events organized by the U.S. Commercial Service. It is a compact program designed to help U.S. companies expand successfully in specific regions.
This time round, our focus is on Southeast Asia. Bradley Harker, our Senior Commercial Officer will be at Tradewinds in Bangkok, Thailand March 13-15, along with many other Senior Commercial Officers in the region. If you are interested in learning about opportunities in Hong Kong or a getting an update on the city, please reach out to him to schedule a meeting at Bradley.Harker@trade.gov
University of Chicago Welcome Reception, March 10, 2023.
The Commercial Service team in Hong Kong is partnering with world-renowned University of Chicago to host a networking reception at their Hong Kong campus for business leaders along with members of the diplomatic and creative community.
Located at Mount Davis, this 53,000 square feet breathtaking campus officially opened in 2018. This event is intended to help the university promote their top-notch programs as well as the unique opportunity to tour the facilities.
If you are interested in learning more about the University of Chicago’s programs in Hong Kong, please contact Maggie Lau at maggie.lau@trade.gov. For more information on education in Hong Kong, please visit our Country Commercial Guide.
Select U.S.A. Training Seminar, March 23, 2023.
In anticipation of the upcoming 2023 SelectUSA Investment Summit (May 1-4, 2023), SelectUSA is partnering with Deloitte to host a training seminar on March 23 at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park.
This is an opportunity to learn about the latest investment environment and opportunities in the United States.
We have lined up numerous experts to cover questions around tax, immigration, and legal firms to join the event. Additionally, a U.S. Economic Development Organization (E.D.O.) will be sharing successful U.S. investment stories ,and tips on partnering with E.D.O.s. Please contact Boris Meyer at Boris.Meyer@trade.gov to join the event.
USA Rugby Reception at the Consul General’s Residence, March 28, 2023.
In conjunction with the return of Rugby 7s to Hong Kong, the U.S. Consulate is hosting a reception to celebrate the U.S. men's and women’s rugby team at the Consul General’s Residence. After a 3-year hiatus and a successful winter edition last November, the Hong Kong Rugby 7's tournament will run from March 31 to April 2, 2023.
The reception will also pay homage to the Golden Eagles, a non-profit that provides financial support to the national team cover the costs of the World Cup Sevens Championship, nurturing the development of rugby in the U.S. and to guide players during and after their professional rugby careers.
For more information on how you can get involved, please contact Boris at Boris.Meyer@trade.gov
Join IPW, the U. S’s largest inbound travel trade show, May 20-24, 2023.
With wanderlust on high gear again, it makes perfect sense to attend the U.S. Travel Association’s IPW 2023 at San Antonio, Texas this May. IPW 2023 has confirmed the participation of more than 1,200 travel exhibitors and destination organizations.
As part of the delegation, attendees will get up to 42 prescheduled appointments with exhibitors representing destinations, hotels, attractions, and transportation companies. The U.S Travel Association will provide lodging at the assigned hotel for five nights. Additionally, your registration includes all meals and networking functions, which are an official part of IPW.
If you are a travel agent interested in promotion U.S. as a holiday destination or travel media wanting to rediscover the U.S., please contact Maggie Lau at maggie.lau@trade.gov to learn about the conference
International Franchise Expo New York, June 1-3, 2023
If you are toying with the idea of investing on a franchise, join our delegation to attend the biggest franchise show in the U.S, the International Franchise Expo (IFE) in New York.
In its 31st edition, this show offers aspiring and seasoned franchise owners more 70 educational sessions, and the opportunity to interact with top franchises in every industry.
This 3- day event will start on June 1, 2023 at the Javits Centre in New York, delegates can take advantage of the complimentary admission, one-to-one business matchmaking, access to the Global Business Center. E-mail Natalie Tong at natalie.tong@trade.gov if you are interested to learn more about the show.
Recent Highlights
Environmental Technology Roundtable, March 2, 2023.
The U.S. Commercial Service team in Hong Kong recently hosted a discussion on the future of waste management in Hong Kong. We invited government and industry leaders to discuss new policies, current trends, and future opportunities for collaboration.
Hong Kong has been making great strides in waste management with a variety of measures, such as the Producer Responsibility Scheme, introduced to encourage waste reduction and increase the recovery rate of recyclable materials. A key takeaway from the roundtable is that Hong Kong faces unique challenges in waste management because of the high cost of logistics, difficulty of waste collection from high rises, and finding appropriate eco-packaging that works with Hong Kong’s tropical climate and consumer behaviors.
U.S. companies can contact our specialist, Maggie Lau, at maggie.lau@trade.gov to learn about opportunities to do business in Hong Kong. You can also read our environmental technology section in our Country Commercial Guide.
U.S. Clean Beauty Showcase, February 23, 2023.
The U.S. Commercial Service in Hong Kong recently organized an event at the American Club to help 25 export ready U.S. clean beauty brands launch their products in Hong Kong and China. Focusing on high quality clean, organic, and sustainable products, this showcase took place simultaneously across all U.S. missions in China and Hong Kong.
Approximately, 20 top local distributors specializing in clean beauty products were invited to participate in this showcase and were given the chance to test out the products. If you are interested to learn more about this showcase and the companies, please refer to the showcase catalogue and contact Natalie Tong at natalie.tong@trade.gov
Cathay Cargo Terminal Visit, February 22, 2023.
The U.S. Commercial Service in Hong Kong, along with the Economic Section Team, led by Deputy Consul General Mr. Colin Crosby recently visited the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal.
We had the opportunity to learn about the day-to-day operations and how technological advances have helped Cathay’s continue to be at the forefront of the air cargo business. Special thanks to Mr. Mark Watts, COO of Cathay Pacific Services Ltd., and his team for organizing such an instructive visit.
Singapore Trip, February 27- March 1, 2023.
This month Senior Commercial Officer Brad Harker and Deputy Senior Commercial Officer Paul Frost visited Singapore for 3 days of outreach meetings after nearly 3 years of difficult Covid restrictions in Hong Kong. They briefed a group at the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore about the current business climate in Hong Kong.
Their core message was that Hong Kong has passed through challenging years of protests, national security-related curtailments of Hong Kong's autonomy, and Covid travel restrictions and lockdowns. But we are focused on serving the roughly 70,000 U.S. citizens and 1,300 American companies here, especially in our priority sectors, which are described in our annually updated Country Commercial Guide.
In additional to several meetings with individual U.S. companies, they also met with the American Association of the Indo-Pacific to discuss recent work on their Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) taskforce.
It was a pleasure for Brad and Paul to spend time with our counterparts in Singapore, Christopher Quinlivan, Senior Commercial Officer and Christian Koschil, Digital Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore. We look forward to future collaboration with them as we work together on behalf of U.S. companies in this region.
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