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International Automotive Experts Present Technical Aspects in Building Hong Kong's Auto Parts Industry at HKPC Conference

More than 100 local manufacturers, industrialists and investors attended the International Technical Conference organized by the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) today (30 September 2005) - the third event in HKPC's programme on "Opportunities and Challenges for Hong Kong in Building an Automotive Parts Industry" to support the development of the local automotive parts industry.

Focusing on the technical aspects of the automotive industry, the Conference featured presentations by investors, automotive and parts manufacturers, and veteran industry experts from the USA, UK, Germany, Austria, the Mainland and Hong Kong. They shared their insights on the investment opportunities in Hong Kong for Mainland automotive companies, profitability of the automotive and components industry, development trends and application of global positioning and navigation system, automotive networking for safety and information applications, automobile sensory technology, complete vehicle development, as well as the process of vehicle design and development.

In his opening remarks, Mr K K Yeung, Executive Director of HKPC said, "To maintain a robust economy, we need to identify and develop high-value added manufacturing activities that suit Hong Kong's high-cost environment. We believe the automotive parts industry is one ideal option."

Highlighting the competitive advantages of Hong Kong in building an automotive parts industry, he said, "As a hub for knowledge and technology transfer, Hong Kong can transfer advanced automotive technology to the Mainland and supply it with state-of-the-art automotive parts. We are better positioned than any other territory to play this role for a number of reasons."

"Firstly, Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan city within China itself. On the one hand, it has geographical advantages. On the other hand, it has the values and policies that international investors hold dear, such as the rule of law, a level playing field and protection of intellectual property. Hong Kong is therefore likely to be able to attract ample foreign investment to support the development of its automotive parts industry. More importantly, under CEPA, the Mainland exempts import tariffs for Hong Kong-made automotive parts," he said.

Introducing HKPC's role in support of this industry, Mr Yeung said, "HKPC has been appointed by the HKSAR Government to host the Automotive Parts and Accessory Systems Research & Development Centre, which is expected to open in late 2005. The Centre will act as Hong Kong's leading focal point in providing support to the automotive parts industry in R&D as well as commercialization. It will strive to integrate the expertise of local, Mainland and overseas professionals to create competitive edges for the local automotive parts industry. The Centre will enhance the capabilities of the local industry in market intelligence, product design, corporate management as well as quality system management."

"In addition, HKPC has set up an Automotive Industry Development Division to liaise between the industry and the R&D Centre. It also offers consultancy and business development services to the local auto parts industry," he said.

Sharing their insights and experience with participants were Dr Chen Xiaoping, Managing Director, Linktech International Ltd; Mr Charles Cheung, Director of China Equity Research, Citigroup Global Market Asia Limited; Miss Pacita Sze, Director of Corporate Finance, Investment Banking, SBI E-2 Capital China Holdings Limited; Mr Peter Sun, Chairman & CEO, InnoVech International Limited; Mr Herbert Martin, Director IVM Automotive China, IVM Automotive Wolfsburg GmbH, Shanghai Office; Mr Albert Lam, CEO of Lotus Engineering of UK; Dr Tony Lee, Former R&D Vice President of Delphi Inc, USA; Dr Wai Chen, Chief Scientist, Telcordia Technologies Inc; Mr Thomas Gruenewald, Director Design (Styling), IVM Automotive Rhein-Main GmbH; Prof. Stan Oliver, Academic Leader, Department of Business, Logistics and Information Systems, University of Bolton, and President of SAE (UK) 2005-2006; Dr Eugene Tsiang, Scientist of Acies Imaging Systems Inc; Mr Lawrence Chang, Marketing Manager of Engineering Polymers, Greater China, DuPont China Limited; Ms Tien Yamei, General Manager, China Autoparts & Accessories Corporation (CAPAC) and representatives from Magna Steyr of Austria and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd.

During the Conference, HKPC, together with Digi-International Exhibitions Company Ltd (Digi) and CAPAC, jointly announced the launch of the '2006 International Auto Parts & Accessories Fair and Conference' which will be held from 15 to 17 May 2006 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event aims to offer an information and business platform for automotive industry players from the world over. A signing ceremony to mark the launch was officiated by Mr K K Yeung, Mr Anthony Ip, Executive Director of Digi; Ms Tien Yamei, General Manager of CAPAC; Mr Ngai Wing Chit, Assistant Director-General of Trade and Industry, HKSAR Government; Mr Calvin Tan, Chairman, Society of Automotive Engineers (Hong Kong Section); Mr George So, Senior Advisor of CAPAC; Dr Heron Chan, Managing Director, Digi; and Dr Stephen Lee, Director (Product Productivity), HKPC. For further information on the event, please visit the website: www.autopartsfair.net.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms Betty Lee
General Manager
Corporate Communications and Events
Tel: (852) 2788 5895
Fax: (852) 2788 5056
E-mail: justina@hkpc.org

30 September 2005