Leading German Firm Chooses HK for First Office in Asia
HONG KONG, March 1 (Xinhuanet) - The Germany-based GeneScan Europe AG, a major global player in molecular biology, specializedin analysis of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in foodstuffs and ingredients, Friday announced that it had set up here its first office in Asia.

The Managing Director of GeneScan (Hong Kong) Ltd. Frank Albrecht commented, "The strategic location of Hong Kong and its proximity (to the Chinese mainland) were key factors in our decision to establish an office in Hong Kong."

Albrecht said, "We regard China as one of the most important markets worldwide, especially after China's participation in the WTO. This step represents a great opportunity for GeneScan to strengthen our global presence and provide our services and products to international customers for their operations in Asia.

"We anticipate that the implementation of international standards in the food industry on the mainland will subsequently lead to a greatly increased need for GMO testing in Hong Kong," the managing director said.

Acting Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong Lawrence Tang said that Hong Kong plays an effective bridging and co-ordinating role for overseas companies to explore the enormous biomedical, healthcare and agricultural markets in Asia.

Tang said that Invest Hong Kong welcomed GeneScan's choice of Hong Kong as their first operations base to address the East Asianmarket. "Hong Kong has a good general business environment for biotechnology companies," Tang added.

Currently, GeneScan (Hong Kong) Ltd acts primarily as a regional sales office. Analyses for the Hong Kong subsidiary are now being carried out in Europe. However, the company will add itsown laboratory facilities soon.

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