by Chai Li Tiing, chailitiing@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 3, 2012, Tuesday

ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS: Photo shows the opening ceremony at last years Eco Expo Asia. (From left) Song Xiao Zhi, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Environmental Protection; the Honourable Edward Yau, Secretary for the Environment; and Fred Lam, executive director of the HKTDC are pictured officiating the ceremony for the Expo.

KUCHING: The growing environmental protection industry will be front and centre at the Hong Kong Trade Development Councils (HKTDC) upcoming Eco Expo Asia, to be held from Oct 27 to 30 with support from the HKSARG Environment Bureau.

According to a HKTDC representation during an interview with The Borneo Post, The Eco Expo Asia is the only trade fair on environmental protection in Hong Kong promoting environmental protection at all levels, including Business-to-Business, Business-to-Consumer exchange as well as Business-to-Government interaction.

Apart from marketing the capabilities, product and technologies available in the environmental protection sector, Eco Expo Asia also presents business opportunities and investment projects of Asia and especially the Chinese Mainland, in particular the neighbouring Pearl River Delta. The environmental protection sector had been increasing in importance within China as it was recognised as one of the pillar industries in Chinas 12th Five-Year Programme.

The total investment was estimated to be over US$473 billion during the five-year period and the market was expected to grow at an annual compound rate of 15 to 20 per cent with an industry output value of US$773 billion by 2015.

The mainland envisages that an investment of RMB3.4 trillion will be needed for new environmental protection projects to be implemented during 2011 to 2015.

In particular, priority is given to projects in eight areas that will require as much as RMB1.5 trillion investments in the period. With Hong Kongs close connections with the mainland, its comprehensive financial system, its well-established rule of law and legal regime on intellectual property rights protection, the representative believed that Hong Kong could provide an ideal platform for foreign green service and product providers to enter the market.

As such, the representative noted that the outlook for the environmental protection market in Hong Kong is good.

With the subsequent launch of energy efficiency and carbon reduction measures, demand for eco technologies in the Chinese mainland is on the rise.

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Environmental protection to take centre stage in upcoming Eco Expo Asia