Louis Ho, director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council

Following a warm welcome by WTCGP President Joanna Savvides, Louis Ho, director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council, provided a brief overview of Hong Kong and its business environment. In his presentation, he focused on the “four pillars” holding Hong Kong’s position as the fulcrum for business success in Asia: the rule of law and intellectual property protection; a level playing field for domestic and international companies registered in Hong Kong; an anti corruption culture; and the free flow of information.

Next on the agenda was Rose Lee Askin, senior vice president of commercial banking at Citizens Bank. Ms. Askin highlighted some of the characteristic features of Hong Kong business environment and its banking system. She analyzed the differences and similarities between banking systems in mainland China and Hong Kong.

An overview of the Hong Kong legal system was provided by Vincent Capone, partner at Reed Smith. As the person responsible for the transaction detail for Reed Smith’s merger with Richards Butler Hong Kong last year, Mr. Capone shared his insider’s knowledge of the major players in this region’s legal marketplace. In addition, he highlighted some of the limitations of a legal system having just 5,700 lawyers (as a point of comparison, Philadelphia Bar Association has nearly 13,000 lawyers).

Sourcing from Hong Kong was the final topic. Thomas DeMarino, director business development, Ocean North America at IKEA Wholesale Inc., shared his observations of current trends in cargo handling in the South Asian Pacific region. He noted that despite the growth of China’s mainland ports, Hong Kong continues to flourish as a hub port serving the needs of companies in this marketplace. He set this all within the context of the entertaining history of IKEA.

The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia would like to thank Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Citizens Bank and Continental Airlines for sponsoring March 25 event. We also appreciate assistance provided by our supporting organizations: New Jersey Commerce—Office of International Trade and Protocol Department; Southern New Jersey Development Council; U.S. Export Assistance Center, Trenton, NJ; The Marketing Difference and the Greek-American Chamber of Commerce.

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April 23, 2008 -Visit of PA ATRs for China - Beijing, China - Shanghai, India, and Brazil

April 30, 2008 - "Business Opportunities in the Booming Gulf States"

May 7, 2008 - Visit of PA ATRs for Germany, France, Spain and the UK

May 21, 2008 - WTC Day Dinner

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