After years of development, the Chinese mainland funded enterprises in Hong Kong have become an important economic force in Hong Kong, said a leading official of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

Guo Li, deputy director of the Liaison Office, made the remarks Tuesday at an annual meeting of the Hong Kong Chinese Association.

She said statistics made by the HKSAR government indicated that the Chinese mainland funded shipping, insurance and travel enterprises have won 25 percent of the market share in Hong Kong, while the Chinese mainland banks' depositing and loan providing volume accounted for 20 percent of the market share here.

Guo Li said by the end of 2003, a total of 72 Chinese mainland enterprises listed on the Hong Kong Exchange and Clearance Limited, with a market value of 1.19 trillion HK dollars (153.46 billion US dollars), accounted for 21.6 percent of the Hong Kong stock market.

She said the Chinese mainland funded enterprises helped create nearly 90,000 jobs in Hong Kong.

She called on the Chinese mainland funded enterprises in Hong Kong to continue to play the role as a bridge between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, pushing ahead with the economic and trade exchanges between the two places, in a bid to boost the economic development in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

Source: Xinhua