Financial Secretary Paul Chan visited two mainland firms in Beijing on Friday, highlighting Hong Kong's role as a gateway for business expansion and global market access.

Chan first visited a leading pop-culture entertainment company listed in Hong Kong, which operates popular intellectual property (IP) artistic toys. He toured the company's thematic park and met with senior management to discuss their business development.

He welcomed the firm's plans to expand its physical retail network in Hong Kong and diversify services, noting that the SAR government is reviewing tax deductions for acquiring IP usage rights to boost the industry.

Later, Chan visited a high-precision artificial intelligence (AI) firm specialising in intelligent sensing solutions for smart traffic management, autonomous driving, perception robots, and low-altitude economic applications.

The company, with projects in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, plans to establish its international headquarters and a global R&D centre in Hong Kong while preparing for a listing. Chan encouraged the firm to utilise Hong Kong's capital, talent, and professional services to expand internationally.

Chan was due to attend the China Development Forum on Saturday and speak at the thematic seminar.