The Europe Committee organized an online seminar on 18 April with our Italian partner, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), to update members on the opportunities and trends in the Italian and Hong Kong food and beverage markets in the post-pandemic era. Members also got to connect with their Italian counterparts via the CDP Business Matching platform.

Riccardo Honorati Bianchi, CDP Business Matching Platform Coordinator, explained how companies could benefit from the platform, whose scope has been expanded to cover eight countries, including India, Japan and China, in its first year of operation with 4,000 companies registered.

Massimiliano Boccardelli, Head of Industrial and Food-Chain Policies and Institutional Relationship at Federalimentare, said Italy is the second healthiest country in the world and remains committed to enhancing food safety, accelerating green initiatives and driving sustainability in its F&B sector within the EU Food and Feed framework. Boccardelli said he was confident Hong Kong could offer plenty of potential for Italian companies, thanks to the city’s openness to international F&B products. His remarks were echoed by Sindy Wong, Head of Tourism and Hospitality at InvestHK, who said the city’s dining culture as well as its geographical advantage with Mainland tourists made it an attractive consumer market. 

Carmelo Ficarra, Consul General of Italy in Hong Kong and Macao, and Europe Committee Chairman David De Rosa expressed hope that Italian and Hong Kong firms would continue to work to enhance communication and explore business opportunities.