Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah to visit Hong Kong

'Hong Kong is the gateway to China,' says Alaudeen A. Alaskary, Consul-General of Saudi Arabia. 'Anything you want to do in China, from banking to trade and establishing a regional office, it is better to do it in Hong Kong.

'Some people like to think it is better to deal directly with China. But if you are entering from Hong Kong you can benefit from local free trade agreements, zero tax and a strong legal system. Banking is also very, very good in Hong Kong. And the business language is English.'

Mr. Alaskary, a successful businessman, set-up the Consultate-General from scratch two years ago. He admits that after 18 years in the planning stage, the opening was somewhat overdue.

'Just as Dubai is the entry point for many companies into Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong is the gateway to China,' he explains. Such logic has not been lost on two giant Saudi companies, Saudi Aramco and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, which have offices now in Hong Kong.

Aramco has its main office in Hong Kong, from which it negotiated a $5 billion refinery deal in China, part of a joint venture with Sinopec and ExxonMobil. Sabic maintains an office in Hong Kong, although its regional base is in Singapore.

'After 9/11 Saudi Arabia has been concerned about putting all its eggs into one basket. So investment is going into China and the Far East and not just the US and Europe,' explains the Kingdom's man in Hong Kong.

'We are in an expansion phase here, and we hope to secure landing rights for Saudi Arabian Airlines very soon for three flights per week, in addition to cargo flights. To give you an example of the trade flow, this office currently processes about 90 trade documents a day.'

Another example of new Saudi business with China is the Best Buy furniture chain store which will bring Chinese-made furniture to the Middle East through an investment of $100m in shops in Riyadh, Damman, Jeddah, Cairo and Dubai. This follows the business model of US giant Walmart, sourcing cheaply in China but is aimed squarely at competing with Europe's IKEA.

Mr. Alaskary argues that security risks for visiting businessmen to Saudi Arabia are exaggerated, and that he hopes more and more Chinese business will consider building up links with the dynamic oil-economies of the Middle East.

His own office is on a charm offensive in Hong Kong promoting Arabic culture in local universities and delivering lectures to local business groups and even at the Foreign Correspondents Club. It also provides comfortable offices for visiting Saudi Arabian companies and a good deal of moral and practical support.