The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (HKETO Berlin) welcomed friends and partners of Hong Kong to celebrate the Year of the Dragon with a reception held in Berlin, Germany, on February 13 (Berlin time). Key contacts from government, political, business and cultural sectors came together and learned about Hong Kong's achievements in attracting international talent and enterprises, as well as the city's growing allure as an international arts and culture exchange hub. Avan Yu, a renowned Hong Kong pianist based in Berlin, was invited to perform on the occasion.
In her opening speech at the reception, the Director of the HKETO Berlin, Ms Jenny Szeto, shared that Hong Kong's economy is back on course with nearly full employment in the third quarter of 2023 and a Gross Domestic Product growth forecast of 4.1 per cent in 2024. "We are also continuing our endeavour to attract enterprises and talent to Hong Kong to further drive our economic growth. Since its establishment about one year ago, the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises has approached nearly 300 enterprises, with 30 of them already planning to set up businesses or increase their business scale in Hong Kong. This will involve an investment of a total of more than HK$30 billion and the creation of about 10 000 jobs in the coming few years," Ms Szeto further explained Hong Kong's latest economic developments.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong has restored its connectivity to the rest of the world, with passenger traffic at Hong Kong International Airport recovering to 80 per cent of the pre-pandemic level. In light of these positive developments, Ms Szeto invited the audience to explore Hong Kong's new cultural additions, including M+, Hong Kong's flagship museum of visual arts, as well as the more traditional Hong Kong Palace Museum, both of which are situated in the West Kowloon Cultural District.
Ahead of the celebration in Berlin, the first Chinese New Year reception was held in Warsaw. There will be more receptions in Ljubljana, Bratislava, Prague, Zurich, Budapest and Vienna in the coming weeks. A harmonica and piano duo formed by CY Leo and Joyce Cheung as well as different groups of Europe-based musicians from Hong Kong will be performing beautiful classical and contemporary pieces at the receptions to showcase the diversity of Hong Kong's music landscape.
About HKETO Berlin
HKETO Berlin is the official representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Germany as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland.
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