A think tank on Wednesday said government departments should divide their workload more effectively to facilitate communication with mainland enterprises hoping to go global through Hong Kong.

According to Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF), more than 3,000 mainland enterprises set up offices or regional headquarters in the SAR last year, marking a 42 percent increase compared to 2023.

The government launched a Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global towards the end of last year, with the one-stop platform designed to assist mainland enterprises in expanding globally through the SAR.

The task force integrates resources from InvestHK, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), and the SAR's overseas economic and trade offices.

The foundation released a report titled “Setting Sail for Hong Kong: A New Era for Enterprises Going Global".

Jason Leung, an assistant research director from OHKF, stressed that many mainland companies are unaware of the support they can get and face difficulties finding the right contact point.

He said the task force could divide its workload more effectively, such as by making InvestHK the main point of contact for mainland enterprises newly established in the SAR.

“In terms of catering to the needs of mainland enterprises going global, it is a natural extension for Invest Hong Kong to take up this responsibility as well, because it has always been doing such jobs, just that the target audience could be more skewed towards mainland enterprises,” he said.

But when these mainland enterprises mature in Hong Kong and actually go global, Leung said the HKTDC overseas offices should act as the primary liaison.

“Very often the need that arises is on-the-ground support in overseas markets. And I think the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, given its wide-ranging overseas presence, given its in-depth research for different overseas markets, can perform this role to answer the needs and queries when the need arises,” he said.

The government should also seek to expand the service network of its overseas offices in emerging markets such as Latin America, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa and seek to sign more tax and investment agreements with countries in those regions, the researcher added.