Department of Finance of Ireland : Minister Eoghan Murphy to promote Ireland’s financial sector in Hong Kong and Beijing

Minister Eoghan Murphy to promote Ireland's financial sector in Hong Kong and Beijing

Today (16-Jan-2017) in Hong Kong Eoghan Murphy TD, Minister of State for Financial Services, begins an intensive 4-day programme in Hong Kong and Beijing to promote Ireland's international financial services sector. Commenting on his programme Minister Murphy noted,

'I welcome the opportunity to return to Asia1 to continue to promote the growth and job creation potential from stronger Ireland-China trade relations in financial services. Just as Hong Kong is a gateway for Irish companies doing business in the wider region, I am here to promote Ireland as the financial centre of choice for Hong Kong and Chinese companies who want to do business in Europe.'

Minister Murphy will be the fourth Minister to travel to Hong Kong since the Government opened a Consulate there in 2014 to administer to its 5,000 strong Irish community. Central to the Hong Kong leg of the Minister's programme is his speaking on Cyber-security and Payment technologies at the 10th annual Asian Financial Forum.

He will use this opportunity to draw attention to the strengths of indigenous Irish financial technology companies particularly in the areas cyber-security, risk modelling, data analytics and Blockchain.

He will also speak about the Government's IFS 2020 Strategy which aims to continue to grow direct employment in the sector beyond the current level of over 40,000.

Speaking on his wider Hong Kong programme, taking in a number of bilateral and one-to-many engagements with and on behalf of IDA and Enterprise Ireland client companies, Minister of State Eoghan Murphy T.D. stated:

'I am here to demonstrate the readiness and capability of our financial services sector to meet the challenge of the year ahead. Last year's Brexit vote requires us to accelerate and intensify market diversification beyond our traditional markets. The rapid growth in Ireland's trade with China over the last number of years3 and the 20 plus Irish firms doing business in the region illustrate the potential to attract further investment into Ireland.'

Following last month's announcement of a 50 billion Renmimbi institutional investment quota by Chinese authorities2 Minister Murphy will speak to opportunities for increased investment at Ireland-China investment conferences in both Hong Kong and Beijing.

His Beijing programme will take in a round of official engagements with counterparts in the Chinese Ministry of Finance, the People's Bank of China, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The Beijing leg will also include engagements to further promote the 'IFS Ireland' banner brand and highlight the Asian focus at next week's European Financial Forum4 in Dublin Castle. At the upcoming European Financial Forum representatives from over 400 companies from 20 countries will hear from, amongst others, AIIB president Mr Jin Liquan and Mr Qi Bin, vice-chairman of the China Investment Corporation.

16 January 2017

ENDS

Further information from:

David Byrne - Press Officer - [e-mail] + 353 86 026 7978

Note to editors:

1. Minister Murphy led a trade delegation of Enterprise Ireland financial services client companies as part of his programme to Singapore, Shanghai and Tokyo last September, further details at www.finance.gov.ie/news-centre/press-releases/minister-eoghan-murphy-asia-promote-ireland%E2%80%99s-financial-services-and-2017
2. Further detail on Ireland's Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor quota is available here www.finance.gov.ie/news-centre/press-releases/ireland-improves-financial-links-china
3. This year, China is Ireland's largest trade partner in Asia. Per CSO figures for 2015, two-way trade in goods and services amounted to some €11.1 billion. On current trend, Ireland's two-way trade with China could exceed €12 billion in 2016 and €14 billion in 2017 - up from just over €7 billion in 2013.
4. Further detail on the European Financial Forum on 24-Jan next available at www.ifsireland.com/european-financial-forum.html

Information on the Government's IFS 2020 Strategy and action plans is available here, www.finance.gov.ie/Ifs2020. The 2017 action plan will be published next week in advance of the European Financial Forum in Dublin Castle.

The programme for the 10th Annual Asian Financial Forum is available here www.asianfinancialforum.com/en/info_programme.htm

Relevant links:

Embassy of Ireland, China www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/china

Consulate General of Ireland, Hong Kong www.dfa.ie/irish-consulate/hong-kong

IDA Ireland, Asia Pacific www.idaireland.com/how-we-help/global-teams/asia-pacific

Enterprise Ireland, China www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/export-assistance/international-office-network-services-and-contacts/contact-details-for-enterprise-ireland-staff-servicing-china.html