The trading and business relationship between Hong Kong and Europe will be strengthened in the future, Head of the European Commission's Office in Hong Kong and Macao Thomas Roe said.

In a group interview before the May 9 Europe Day, Roe said that Hong Kong will continue to be a gateway to the mainland market for European companies.

The European Union (EU) is China's top trading partner, and China is the EU's second-largest trading partner. But 14 percent of the Sino-EU trade is shipped through Hong Kong.

As of March in the finance sector, 34 of the 142 licensed banks in the SAR were incorporated into the EU. About 30 percent of foreign companies with regional headquarters in Hong Kong are also EU-based.

In 2007, 353 out of the 1,246 foreign companies with regional headquarters in Hong Kong had EU-incorporated parent companies. There were an additional 617 EU companies with regional offices in Hong Kong, and another 431 had local offices, covering a variety of sectors such as financial services, insurance, transportation, and high-end consumer goods.

"We expect trading between EU states and Hong Kong will increase in the coming years," said French Consul General in Hong Kong Jean-Pierre Thebault.

Concerns regarding product safety were raised last year, but Roe said that Chinese manufacturers and the government have addressed the issue.

The number of European visitors traveling to Hong Kong also increased by 14.5 percent to 1.77 million last year, commission figures said. Hong Kong citizens with an SAR passport have also been granted visa-free access to EU countries since 2001. The EU will continue talking with the Chinese government about various issues, such as the protection of intellectual property rights.

The first structured dialogue between Hong Kong and the EU took place last year following an agreement reached in 2006 to establish an annual platform to enhance cooperation. The two sides will also step up their cooperation on issues ranging from food safety to nutritional labeling.

The EU has maintained an office of the European Commission - the union's executive arm - in Hong Kong since 1993.

Currently, there are about 60,000 European citizens living in Hong Kong.

(HK Edition 05/09/2008 page2)