Hong Kong can help European companies tap promising markets in Asia, particularly mainland China, by leveraging the city’s unique advantages and its booming financial market, according to two firms that are using bases of operations in the city to further expand in the region.
Italian-owned food importer and distributor Bright View and French fintech firm Libertify are using Hong Kong as a springboard to reach opportunities in mainland China, elsewhere in Asia and further abroad, with the help of InvestHK, a government agency tasked with attracting foreign investment.
“Hong Kong has always been and still is a market that all the producers are interested in to be here,” said Michele Bernacchia, the general manager of Bright View, which imports and distributes cheese, cold cuts, pastries, pasta, rice and fresh vegetables. The company is a unit of Italy’s Inalca Food & Beverage, which first started working with InvestHK in 2015 and acquired local firm Bright View Trading in 2017.
The Greater Bay Area combines Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong into a market with a population of more than 87 million.
“We are very excited about this because we think that in the south of China there are a lot of opportunities,” Bernacchia said.
The company was eyeing Shenzhen as its next target city for expansion, he said.
