Northern Ireland's economy minister will lead one of the largest trade missions from the North to China this week to bid for new business opportunities arising from the 2008 Olympic games.
Sir Reg Empey, Minister for Enterprise Trade and Investment, will leave Belfast tomorrow for Beijing, where he plans to meet up with 38 directors and senior managers from Northern Ireland firms.
The trade mission to Hong Kong and China is organised by Trade International, the export and trade division of the Industrial Development Board in the North. It features a cross-section of Northern Ireland industry.
Sir Reg is scheduled to hold briefings with senior Chinese government representatives. He believes the trade mission will allow him to provide practical support to Northern Ireland companies trying to win new business in Hong Kong and China.
Speaking in Belfast before his departure, Sir Reg said many northern firms had already developed a strong market presence in China's competitive marketplace.
A number of firms taking part in the mission such as Randox Laboratories and Andor Technology have established business relationships in Beijing. West Belfast firm Delta Packaging has a joint venture printing operation, Huabei Delta, at Qian'an.
Sir Reg believes these companies will be able to help newcomers from Northern Ireland to develop their approach to the Chinese market, which has a population of some 1.3 billion people.
