Financial Secretary Paul Chan will depart for Paris, France, tomorrow night to begin his visit to Europe covering Paris, London, Berlin and Frankfurt.

During his stay in Paris from September 17 to 19, Mr Chan will attend Think Business Think Hong Kong, a mega promotion campaign organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), and speak at its symposium and exchange dinner.

A Hong Kong delegation comprising more than 130 representatives from chambers of commerce, public organisations, investors, startup entrepreneurs, professional service providers and more will be joining the campaign, marking the largest Hong Kong delegation to Europe since the pandemic.

From September 20 to 23, Mr Chan will visit London, where he will attend the HKTDC's Hong Kong Dinner as well as a luncheon hosted by the Hong Kong Association.

The finance chief will be in Berlin and Frankfurt from September 24 to 26, where he will meet and have lunch with local financial and business communities.

While in Europe, Mr Chan will meet their respective political, business and financial communities to introduce to them Hong Kong's new advantages and the new business opportunities it provides, with a view to strengthening bilateral economic ties and mutual co-operation.

He will join roundtable discussions or meetings with chambers of commerce, visit strategic enterprises engaging in healthcare, fintech and artificial intelligence as well as arts and creative industry institutions.

Mr Chan said: “Over the past few years, our connections with Europe had been disrupted due to the pandemic, and there have been misconceptions and misunderstanding about Hong Kong.

“We will make good use of the opportunity of this trip to brief the political and business communities in Europe about the latest situation and developments of Hong Kong, including the advantages of Hong Kong in the successful implementation of and long-term adherence to the 'one country, two systems' principle, as well as the unique role and status of Hong Kong's connectivity to the Mainland, Asia and Europe.”

He added that as an international financial centre and international innovation and technology hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), Hong Kong is the most preferred gateway and a high-quality service platform for European companies to explore the immense business opportunities in the GBA and the Mainland.

Mr Chan will return to Hong Kong from Frankfurt on September 27. During his absence, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong will be Acting Financial Secretary.