The greater Pearl River Delta is going all out to get more investors in America.

This month three business promotional events have been held, in San Francisco, Mexico City in Mexico and Canada's Vancouver.

The forums, with the last in Canada taking place yesterday, were jointly organized by Guangdong and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).

As of yesterday morning Vancouver time, the total contracted amount of foreign investment was US$7.2 billion, with 320 foreign investment projects, said Huang Huahua, the governor of Guangdong at the Vancouver forum.

It attracted more than 1,200 guests from Canada's business circles.

Donald Tsang, the chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR, also presided over yesterday's forum in Vancouver.

Governor Huang said Guangdong has one of the most dynamic marketplaces in China plus well-developed foreign trade, and is overall an attractive place to invest in. It has many advantages, he said, such as a massive economy, a high level of internationalization, strong industrial supporting capabilities, a huge market capacity and a superb investment environment.

The future prospects of the delta were the main topic of the three forums. The region is made up of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.

Both Huang and Tsang highlighted cooperation achievements and development prospects of the delta area, and said it was the manufacturing powerhouse of China.

"As the region is the main area of the pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD), the development of the region can drive the full-scale growth of the whole area," said Tsang yesterday.

Tsang said Hong Kong's strategy was to boost economic interactivity with Guangdong and the Pearl River Delta, and to have greater access to the mainland market.

Tsang said the existing Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) not only cleared all trade barriers between the mainland and Hong Kong, but also offered opportunities for Canadian investors.

"Canadian companies which have business in Hong Kong can extend their operations to the mainland freely," Tsang said.

Even though more and more economists are worried that the fast-growing Yangtze River Delta will bring more and more challenges to the Pearl River Delta, Huang said closer cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong can maintain the region's attractions and advantages.

Huang hoped international firms would open offices in Hong Kong as the first step and then set up manufacturing companies in Guangdong.

Some Canadian investors shared their Guangdong experiences during yesterday's forum, including the vice board chairman of Zhuhai Xiang Yi Aviation Technology Company Nick Leontidis, and chief operations officer of Sierra Wireless Jason Cohenour.

The San Francisco forum was held on October 14 and the one in Mexico City four days later.

(China Daily October 26, 2005)