Promoting GBA business opportunities and reaching out to talents in Venice

At a seminar in Venice on 21 October 2021, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) promoted business opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area) and invited Italian university students and entrepreneurs to consider working in Hong Kong, which is an enjoyable place to live and work.

At the business seminar 'Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area - Opportunities and Commercial Exchanges for Veneto Entrepreneurs';, Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Union, Mr Eddie Cheung said, 'Hong Kong is a safe, green, vibrant and innovative city from which one can explore and understand Asia, including Mainland China';.

Mr Cheung said the 14th Five-Year-Plan clearly supports Hong Kong developing into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. In 2020, Hong Kong had a vibrant art market that overtook London's as the second largest art auction market in the world. He said he looked forward to facilitating more cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and the Veneto region, as well as Italy as a whole.

The seminar was co-organised by HKETO, Brussels; the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC); Invest Hong Kong; and the Ca' Foscari University of Venice.

The speakers were Mr Cheung; Principal Consultant (Milan), Invest Hong Kong, Mr Stefano di Paoli; the Director, Italy, Cyprus, Greece and Malta, HKTDC, Mr Gianluca Mirante; and Researcher of the Department of Asian and North African Studies of the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Professor Livio Zanini.

Mr Cheung emphasised that restored stability in Hong Kong was the foundation for strong economic rebound in Hong Kong, with unemployment rate going down to 4.7%.

HKETO, Brussels is also supporting, with Create Hong Kong, the screening of five Hong Kong films at the 18th edition of the Asian Film Festival, held in Venice from 20 to 23 October 2021.

With the support of the City of Venice and Ca' Foscari University of Venice, the Festival aims to screen the best of Far Eastern cinema, including new titles. Three Hong Kong films, namely, Anselm Chan's 'Ready o/r Knot';, Jimmy Wan's 'From Zero to Hero';, and winner of Create Hong Kong's 4th First Feature Film Initiative, Alan Fung's 'Elisa's Day'; were screened on 21 October during an evening dedicated to Hong Kong cinema. Two other Hong Kong films, Wong Hing-fan's 'I'm Livin It'; and Kit Hung's 'Stoma';, are also in the Festival's programme.