Business | Canada encourages local investment

Lynn McDonald, Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner

An investment seminar was held yesterday at the Grand Lapa Hotel by the Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong and Macau as part of their Pop-Up Canada! in Macau event.
The seminar, titled “Invest in Canada: your partner and platform to the world,” presented Canada as an ideal destination for outbound Chinese investment. It outlined, through reference to other Group of Seven (G7) countries, Canada’s comparative advantage in case of business policies, availability of talented workforce and education levels, and the country’s forecasted GDP growth rates in the years ahead.
Among those presenting were Lynn McDonald, Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner, and Janice Vogtle, Consul and Trade Commissioner, both from the Consulate General.
Representatives from Canadian law firm McMillan were scheduled to present alongside members of the Canadian Consulate General, however the company’s presenters were unable to attend for reasons not disclosed at the seminar.
The presenters also emphasized Canada’s easy access to important export markets, such as the U.S. and Mexico, under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Additionally, since major population centers in Canada lie in close proximity to the country’s border with the U.S., in some cases Canadian manufacturing areas are actually closer to northern U.S. cities than their U.S. counterparts, providing a comparative advantage in terms of transportation costs.
A Hong Kong-Canada Tax Treaty was signed in November 2012 and has now become formally ratified. It is designed to encourage cross-border business and investment and provide protection against tax discrimination and double taxation. Staff reporter