Invest Hong Kong opens consultant office in Izmir
In a strategic move to strengthen its presence in fast-growing markets, Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced today (January 10) that it has opened a new consultant office in Izmir, the third largest city in Türkiye. 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 Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK, Ms Alpha Lau, 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 recognised as a strategic hub for global trade, logistics and manufacturing. 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."
She added, "The new office in Izmir will work closely with our 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."
The Principal Consultant of the Istanbul office at InvestHK, Ms Nese Secer, said, "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. 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."
The opening of the new office in Izmir is part of the plan mentioned in the 2024-25 Budget to strengthen Hong Kong's economic and trade relations with the Middle East.
Invest Hong Kong opens consultant office in Izmir Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
HKSAR Government responds to media enquiries on reporting, photo and video-taking at prohibited places specified in subsidiary legislation made under Safeguarding National Security Ordinance
In response to media enquiries on reporting, photo and video-taking at prohibited places specified in the subsidiary legislation made under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, a spokesman for the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region today (May 16) said the following:
The Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, at the meeting of the Legislative Council Subcommittee on Two Items of Subsidiary Legislation Made under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance and the subsequent media session yesterday (May 15), clearly said that according to section 45 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, a "specified officer" (including a police officer or a guard of the prohibited place), who has reasonable grounds to believe that exercising such power is necessary for safeguarding national security, may order any person not to do or cease to do such acts as that of approaching or inspecting (including doing so by electronic or remote means) a prohibited place, and such officer may also order persons in the neighbourhood of a prohibited place to leave. Any person who contravenes an order commits an offence.
There is no problem for members of the public to purely "check in" and take photos near a prohibited place while passing by, without any intention of endangering national security. However, if they deliberately take photos or videos of the entrances or the interior of a prohibited place so as to inspect such place, or engage in other conduct during photo or video-taking giving people reasonable grounds to believe that they may endanger national security, police officers or guards of the prohibited place have the power to ask the members of the public to leave in accordance with the above legal requirements and the judgment made at the scene at the time.