Companies from Fujian province are looking to access superior capital and technological resources via the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to further expand their global footprint, according to entrepreneurs at a high-profile roadshow in the city on Friday.
The roadshow, themed “Pooling Financial Capital to Empower the Real Economy”, was co-hosted by the Fujian Provincial Administration of Local Financial Regulation and Industrial Securities. It brought together representatives from over 300 enterprises, financial institutions, and academic bodies from Fujian province and Hong Kong.
The organizers also unveiled the establishment of the Fujian-Hong Kong Technology and Finance Meeting Hub during the event. With physical venues established in both locations, the platform is designed to facilitate cross-border investment, foster industrial synergy and broaden resources for innovative projects to accelerate the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements.
Miduoduo Group Inc, a Fuzhou-headquartered company specializing in cross-border e-commerce and digital marketing, was among the firms showcasing their potential at the event.
“Hong Kong serves as a vital bridgehead for Chinese companies’ exports,” said Deng Hai, chief executive officer and co-founder of Miduoduo. “Almost every company engaged in international trade must establish ties with or has already maintained a presence (in the city).”
The company has scaled rapidly alongside China’s booming e-commerce sector and the growing wave of domestic brands entering overseas markets in the past decade. To meet the increasingly sophisticated need for firms eying global expansion, Deng said his company must also upgrade its capabilities and transform into a “technology-driven, globally operating service provider”.
He said Hong Kong is an ideal place that concentrates resources for this transition.
“The city has consistently championed technological innovation, and the Hong Kong stock exchange is a world-class platform for capital raising,” Deng said. “We hope that, through this trip, we can access better capital and technological resources here.”
Looking to deepen its global presence and accelerate its capitalization, Miduoduo filed the initial listing applications with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd last year.
Deng told China Daily that the company targets a market valuation of more than HK$10 billion ($1.27 billion), and will set up an office and recruit more top-tier talent in the city to enhance its international competitiveness.
Akuvox (Xiamen) Networks Co Ltd is also part of the Hong Kong bourse’s robust pipeline of listing applications. The Fujian-based smart door phone manufacturer plans to raise funds to increase its investment in research and development, while further expanding its overseas sales network to bolster brand influence, the company’s chairman, Yuan Tao, said at the roadshow.
The firm also intends to pursue investments and acquisitions in the fields of AI and robotics, Yuan added.
Nine companies with ties to or based in Fujian province made their IPO debuts in Hong Kong last year, including Zijin Gold, the international arm of China’s leading miner Zijin Mining Group Co, and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd, the world’s biggest battery maker, which raised more than HK$39 billion.
In his speech at the event, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po noted that more than 1,500 Fujian-based companies currently operate in Hong Kong. Sixty-three firms from the province are listed on the SAR’s equity market, having raised a cumulative total of over HK$150 billion, with a combined market capitalization exceeding HK$800 billion, he added.
Chan proposed that Fujian and Hong Kong collaborate to explore cross-border intellectual property financing models, allowing Fujian’s patents to secure international funding through the SAR’s financial platform.
“Not only can we provide financial support for each other’s high-quality projects, but we can also serve as a bridge to channel international capital into these projects,” Chan said. “This would achieve a mutually beneficial outcome where capital inflows and enterprise globalization go hand in hand.”
Contact the writer at gabylin@chinadailyhk.com
