Hangzhou, Hong Kong partner up in high-end service industry

Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, is teaming up with Hong Kong to jointly build a demonstration area in the high-end service industry, according to a cooperative memorandum signed in 2018.

Located in Shangcheng district, one of the economically developed areas of the provincial capital, the demonstration area is designed to focus on four key areas, including the digital economy, finance, high-end professional services, and international cooperation.

Yuhuang Shannan Fund Town, a hedge-fund hub in Shangcheng district, is China's investment management commercial park for the country's fledging hedge fund industry.

Talking about landing in Shangcheng, a local official noted that the district excels in five major industries covering financial services, culture, tourism, and information technology, which are highly matched with that in Hong Kong.

"The Hangzhou-Hong Kong cooperation is not just merely a one way input or output, but rather a complementation and interconnection between the two sides," said the official, adding that the joint venture is aimed to promote cooperation between enterprises by leveraging the quality resources of Hong Kong in the service industry and the competitive geographic location of Shangcheng district.

Over the years, the two cities have enjoyed closer economic and trade ties and worked together in a slew of quality projects. Hong Kong is now the largest source and destination of foreign investment as well as the top export destination of Hangzhou.

Official statistics reveals that by the end of 2017, the administrative region has invested in 6,099 companies in Hangzhou, with total investment hitting $126.32 billion. A total of 18 Hangzhou-based companies have been listed in Hong Kong, accounting for 60 percent of the all the overseas listed companies.