Beijing Vice Mayor Liu Jingmin said Tuesday that Beijing welcomes Hong Kong businessmen to invest in all of the Olympic Games related projects to be built inBeijing in the next four years.

Liu said at a press conference for the Beijing-Hong Kong Cooperation Symposium and Olympic Games Market Promotion Fair slated for Sept. 2-3 in Hong Kong that the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games does not only provide business opportunities for Beijing, but also offer opportunities for businessmen both at home and abroad.

During the coming symposium, Beijing will focus on promotion ofabout 130 construction projects, in a bid to let Hong Kong businessmen know more about business opportunities in Beijing.

He said all the ventures, both in the Chinese mainland and overseas, will be equally treated during their bidding for building the projects.

The Olympic Games related projects include the building of stadiums and related installations, highway and light rail construction projects and some other infrastructure projects.

Liu said Beijing plans to build about 360 Olympic Games relatedprojects, which the city hopes will speed up its economic development and urban construction process.

Hong Kong businessmen could not only participate in the construction of these projects, but also take part in the promotion of the sport culture related market, he said.

Lu Hao, another Beijing vice mayor, said at the same press conference that Beijing and Hong Kong has a great prospect in bilateral cooperation as Hong Kong has advantages in the sectors to enjoy rapid growth in the near future.

He said, Beijing registered the opening of 177 Hong Kong invested ventures, and 57 of them are related to the Chinese mainland/Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in the first half of this year.

Statistics of the Beijing municipal government indicated that in the first five months this year, solely Hong Kong funded ventures in Beijing witnessed a 60-percent growth.

The first solely Hong Kong funded venture was established in Beijing's advertising, real estate consultation and film distribution sectors respectively in the first five months this year.

Similar to Hong Kong, Lu said, Beijing's service sector accounts for 61 percent of its economic growth and Beijing's logistic sector also witnessed a rapid growth.

He said the service industry in Hong Kong is very professional and is up to the international standards. Hong Kong's total economic strength is four times as much as that of Beijing. Thus the two places can forge a closer link.

Lu stressed Beijing is to grasp the business opportunities to be offered by the CEPA and realize win-win with Hong Kong. Enditem