Beijing, Hong Kong boost economic cooperation

BEIJING -- The 17th Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium will open in Beijing on Oct 23, 2013, with the aim to create a win-win situation for the two cities through further cooperation.

A total of 370 investment projects in Beijing covering finance, trade, cultural and creative industries, innovative technology, logistics and tourism, will be promoted in the 14 business matching activities held during the two-day symposium.

The symposium, initiated in 1997, is now an effective platform for cooperation between Beijing and Hong Kong companies.

A total of 138 investment projects have been successfully matched since last year's symposium. Of them, 112 have been registered, with a registered capital of $3.06 billion. Thirty-nine are projects worth more than $10 million each.

Investment from Hong Kong reached $3.1 billion in the first nine months of 2013, accounting for 40.7 percent of Beijing's utilized foreign direct investment (FDI), according to the Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau.

By September this year, Hong Kong had established a total of 12, 468 companies in Beijing, with an actual investment of $27.83 billion.

Hong Kong is also the top overseas investment destination for Beijing-based companies. In the first nine months of this year, Beijing's direct investment in Hong Kong reached $742 million, up by 572.24 percent year-on-year.