Environment Energy Services Companies
Hong Kong
Overview
| x | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 (estimated) |
| Gross Value of Construction Work | 20708 | 21300 | 22000 |
| Consluting fee involved (approx 1%) | 207 | 213 | 220 |
| Market share by HK and overseas firms (est. 70%) | 145 | 149 | 157 |
| Market share by US firms (est. 30%) | 62 | 64 | 66 |
All figures are in US$ million, and they are unofficial estimates.
Best Prospects/Services
Hong Kong is suffering from acute air pollution. While its own traffic and power generation contribute to the smog, studies estimate that 80% of the air pollution is created by power generation, factories and motor vehicles in the Pearl River Delta, an area north of Hong Kong that has a population of 50 million or 3.3% of China’s total population. Hong Kong environmental and energy service companies are increasingly interested in working in China to help find solutions to the source of pollution as well as to help factories and power plants in China to save energy. U.S. engineering companies should consider partnering with Hong Kong firms to work on projects in the region.
Opportunities
Attracted by the robust economic growth in China, Hong Kong property developers have been investing in China’s property market since 1980. In 2005, Hong Kong’s major developers paid more than USD4 billion to acquire 90 million square feet of land in China. Meanwhile, property management firms are also finding a niche in China due to their management expertise. Many Hong Kong companies invested in grade A offices and up-market shopping malls, in addition to residential properties. Therefore, working with Hong Kong developers is a good way to introduce environmentally friendly building products, design and services to mainland China as well.
Since the 80’s, Hong Kong factory owners have moved their manufacturing base to China, particularly Southern China, to take advantage of the lower land and labor costs. More than 80,000 factories in Guangdong province in mainland China are owned by Hong Kong-based firms. Twenty percent of these factories are highly polluting and many of them are energy inefficient. China’s five-year development plan, issued in February 2006, calls for China to cut energy consumption per unit of economic output by 20 percent and to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide – the chemical that causes acid rain- by 10 percent before 2010.
There are significant opportunities for U.S. environmental energy services companies to tap into the needs of these Hong Kong based companies for their properties or factories in China by partnering with Hong Kong engineering firms, in particular, by capitalizing on the "P2E2," (Pollution Prevention Energy Efficiency) model. In a nutshell, P2E2 is a market-based financing model in which the Environmental Energy Services Company (EESCO) provides services using a performance contract to the enduser, who pays no upfront extra capital cost to achieve pollution-reducing and energy-saving improvements to his facilities in mainland China, or Asian developing countries. P2E2 builds on a five-year plan of cooperation between the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Financing for P2E2 projects is provided by Hong Kong commercial banks as working capital and trade finance loans that benefit from loan guarantees, loan syndications, direct investment and other support from the Asian Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group. Under the P2E2 model, service companies based in Hong Kong—U.S. companies’ potential partners or customers --can do work anywhere in mainland China or in other developing countries in Asia, but get paid in Hong Kong in hard currency.
Resources
Major Trade Shows:
International Conference on Climate Change
Date: May 29 – 31, 2007
Venue: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center
HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL BUILDING MATERIALS & CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT FAIR 2007
Date: October 27 – 30, 2007
Venue: Asia World Expo
Organgizer: Hong Kong Trade Development Council
38th Floor, Office Tower
Convention Plaza
1 Harbour Road
Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: 852 2584 4333
Fax: 852 2824 0249
ECO EXPO ASIA 2007
Date: October 27 – 30, 2007
Venue: Asia World Expo
Organgizer: Hong Kong Trade Development Council
38th Floor, Office Tower
Convention Plaza
1 Harbour Road
Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: 852 2584 4333
Fax: 852 2824 0249
ASIAN BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES 2008
Date: June 2008
Venue: Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center
Organizer: Hong Kong Exhibition Services Ltd.
Unit 2010, 20/F
China Resources Building
26 Harbour Road
Wanchai, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Tel: 852 2804 1500
Fax: 852 2528 3103
Associations and Related Organizations:
Hong Kong Institution of Engineers
9/F., Island Beverley Centre,
1 Great George Street, Causeway Bay,
Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2895-4446
Fax: (852) 2577-7791
The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management
P.O. Box 4258
General Post Office
Hong Kong
Kenny Wong
Chairman
Hong Kong Commercial Specialist:
Elanna Tam
Email: elanna.tam@mail.doc.gov
Tel: (852) 2521-5950; Fax: (852) 2845-9800