Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) has announced that it has opened a consultant office in Izmir, the third largest city in Türkiye, in a strategic move to strengthen its presence in fast-growing markets.
The new office in western Türkiye, established by the government agency under the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, began operations on Jan. 1, according to a statement.
InvestHK already has an office in Istanbul.
The agency is a department of the HKSAR responsible for foreign direct investment and supports overseas businesses to set up and expand in Hong Kong.
“Positioned at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East, this expansion underscores InvestHK's commitment to leveraging Izmir's strategic location to penetrate emerging markets across the region,” the agency said.
"Türkiye is part of the Belt and Road Initiative and is one of our target markets with growing economic potential. It has long been recognized as a strategic hub for global trade, logistics and manufacturing," said Alpha Lau, director-general of investment promotion at InvestHK.
"The opening of our second office there signifies our enhanced efforts to promote the opportunities Hong Kong has to offer for Turkish corporates looking to expand in the region."
The new office in Izmir will work closely with InvestHK's Istanbul office to create synergies in attracting more Turkish corporates to establish their businesses in Hong Kong and to further strengthen the business and economic ties between the two places, Alpha added.
InvestHK set up its first consultant office in Istanbul back in 2006, supporting the department in Türkiye to bring in corporates and investment into Hong Kong, according to Neşe Seçer, the principal consultant of the Istanbul office at InvestHK.
"With the huge economic potential in Türkiye, especially the highly developed sectors in Izmir, such as renewable energy, software and IT services, maritime and biotechnology, we will step up our efforts to bring in more corporates and investment to Hong Kong," Seçer noted.
The opening of the new office is part of the plan mentioned in the 2024-25 budget to strengthen Hong Kong's economic and trade relations with the Middle East, the agency said.
