A joint venture by the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the special administrative region's major industry support service provider, and the Productivity Promotion Center of Shenzhen government is expected to be operational this October.

The aim of the joint venture is "to further support the development of manufacturing and science and technology enterprises in the Pearl River Delta area", said Wilson Fung, executive director of Hong Kong Productivity Council.

"We believe that such a joint venture will provide an ideal platform for enterprises stationed in Shenzhen as well as the rest of the Pearl River Delta to obtain their required services promptly," Fung said.

According to Fung, the joint venture, called the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Productivity Foundation, will soon house six service and supporting centers.

They include: an environmental protection technology center, electronics and automotive technology center, software and digital entertainment industry center, technology transfer center, management consultation center and intellectual property and brand-building center.

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The services provided will include technology commercialization and business matching, product development and technology consultancy, standards and quality testing, training, business consultancy as well as the promotion of Hong Kong's professional services.

"We will further diversify our services later to cope with the market need then ... There is just a huge demand (for such support and services) from enterprises operating in the Pearl River Delta area," Fung said.

Over 80,000 Hong Kong enterprises now have businesses in the Delta region and the new foundation will allow the Hong Kong Productivity Council to provide prompt support and services to them, Fung said

"We hope to expand to other major cities but our priority now is to serve the enterprises in the Pearl River Delta area," he added.

With a total investment of HK$1.54 million, the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Productivity Foundation is 65 percent owned by Hong Kong Productivity Council while its Shenzhen counterpart owns the remaining 35 percent.

It is located in the heart of Shenzhen Advanced New Technology Zone and covers an area of 2,100 square meters.

"It can very conveniently and effectively provide the support services required by both local and multinational hi-tech companies stationed in the zone," Fung said.

He stressed that the foundation was established mainly to help both local and Hong Kong enterprises.