Govt plans HK e-commerce festival

Commerce minister Algernon Yau said on Wednesday that the administration plans to host a "Hong Kong Shopping Festival" in the next few months to help promote SAR brands in the mainland market. He said it is part of a government task force's efforts to assist Hong Kong businesses in selling their products online. Yau said officials are working with companies to find solutions to various challenges. "There are many areas that we need to look into. What platform should be used? How can Hong Kong products be pinned to the top of the page? Tax issues, logistics and storage... there are many problems that need to be resolved," he said on an RTHK programme. "We hope to get in touch with the industry, so they can tell us the difficulties they are facing." The minister noted that companies can apply for up to HK$7 million from a government fund to help them with branding, upgrading and domestic sales. HK$1 million of the grants can be spent on e-commerce. Yau also rejected media reports that some foreign businesses have left because they no longer have confidence in the SAR, saying the government helped nearly 400 firms move to Hong Kong or expand in the territory last year. He said a number of these companies were start-ups, with more than 130 from the mainland, and more than 75 from the UK and the US. Yau added that there are some 9,000 foreign companies operating in the SAR, which is more than before the pandemic.