Hong Kong Celebrates Year of the Horse with Trade Events in Copenhagen and Helsinki

2026-02-14 00:55 Last Updated At：01:08

London ETO greets Year of Horse in Denmark and Finland

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London (London ETO), in collaboration with Invest Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, hosted two celebratory and promotional events under the Economic and Trade Express platform to celebrate the Year of the Horse in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Helsinki, Finland, on February 10 and 11 respectively. The events were well attended by representatives from local governments, as well as the business, academic and cultural sectors.

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London ETO greets Year of Horse in Denmark and Finland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

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London ETO greets Year of Horse in Denmark and Finland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

On February 10, the London ETO and the Denmark-Hong Kong Trade Association cohosted an evening reception in Copenhagen, welcoming over 130 guests. In her welcoming remarks, the Director-General of the London ETO, Miss Fiona Chau, said that Hong Kong and Denmark are natural partners in green and sustainable finance. Denmark's strengths in renewable energy and climate innovation complement Hong Kong's position as Asia's international financial centre, creating broad opportunities for deeper co-operation between the two places.

Miss Chau highlighted that Hong Kong's deep capital markets, robust institutional framework and expanding green finance tools enable innovative projects to scale up and achieve commercialisation across the region. These advantages create opportunities to bring Danish technologies to markets and foster long-term partnerships throughout Asia.

On February 11, the London ETO and the Finland-Hong Kong Business Association cohosted an afternoon reception in Helsinki, greeting over 140 guests. Speaking at the reception, Miss Chau highlighted the strong and growing partnership between Hong Kong and Finland, underpinned by increasing collaboration in life sciences, biotechnology and medtech. She said that Hong Kong provides a strong platform that integrates research, funding and commercialisation.

Miss Chau also highlighted the continued confidence of Finnish enterprises in Hong Kong's market and the practical support provided by Hong Kong's professional services ecosystem in areas such as market entry, trade promotion, financing and regional partnerships. Beyond business, she noted the strong cultural and people-to-people connections between the two places, noting that collaboration in the arts and creative sectors further enriches bilateral ties.

Both receptions featured interactive sharing sessions from business associations, thematic discussions with industry representatives and experience sharing by enterprises, providing guests with practical insights into collaboration opportunities between Hong Kong and the two markets.

The London ETO will continue to organise activities to celebrate the Year of the Horse and to strengthen economic and trade ties with countries under its purview, while promoting Hong Kong's unique advantages.

Hong Kong Suspends Import and Sale of Spanish Raw Oysters Over Food Poisoning Concerns

FEHD continues to actively follow up on food poisoning cases related to consumption of raw oysters and instructs trade to suspend importing and selling of raw oysters produced by Mariscos Escacha, S.L. (processing plant) from Spain

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (February 13) instructed the trade to suspend the import and sale of raw oysters produced by Mariscos Escacha, S.L. (12.04628/PO) (processing plant) from Spain. The trade should stop using or selling the affected product immediately should they possess it.

The aforesaid instruction by the CFS was based on the follow-up investigation of recently reported food poisoning cases related to the consumption of raw oysters, which revealed involvement of the consumption of raw oysters produced by Mariscos Escacha, S.L. (12.04628/PO) (processing plant) from Spain. For the sake of prudence, the CFS has immediately instructed the trade to suspend the import into and sale within Hong Kong of raw oysters produced by Mariscos Escacha, S.L. (12.04628/PO) processing plant) from Spain to safeguard food safety.

The CFS has informed the Spanish authorities of the matter and will notify the local trade. It will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action.

From February 1 to 12 this year, the CFS received 37 food poisoning cases related to the consumption of raw oysters. Officers from the CFS and the Environmental Hygiene Branch of the FEHD immediately conducted investigations at the restaurants involved in the cases, reviewing their food handling procedures and tracing the sources of the oysters.

The CFS's investigations revealed that 13 cases involved the consumption of raw oysters supplied by Seojun Mulsan Co., Ltd. of Korea. For the sake of prudence, the CFS instructed the trade on February 5 to stop the import and sale in Hong Kong of raw oysters supplied by this company.

In addition, the CFS found that 15 cases involved the consumption of raw oysters supplied by the food factory Jeton International Foods and 88 Investment Holdings Limited. The CFS has immediately instructed the company to suspend the sale and supply of raw oysters, and issued a press release on February 6 on its related follow-up work, requiring the trade to stop selling raw oysters supplied by the company concerned. Other cases involved the consumption of raw oysters from various countries.

In view of the recent surge in food poisoning cases related to the consumption of raw oysters, the FEHD has carried out special operations in various districts from February 6 to 12 and stepped up inspections to over 1 200 food premises selling oysters across Hong Kong, thereby safeguarding food safety and protecting public health. The focuses of the inspections included the storage temperature of raw oysters, storage conditions in designated refrigerators, the sources of supply, the personal hygiene of food handlers, the hygienic condition of the premises, verifying source documents and health certificates, and collecting samples for testing. During the inspections, the FEHD officers also provided immediate advice on food storage, handling and environmental hygiene, to ensure licensees/permittees comply with licensing conditions and statutory hygiene standards. The CFS has also stepped up the collection of raw oyster samples for testing.

The CFS reminded that as oysters feed by filtering a large volume of seawater and absorbing suspended food particles therein, bacteria (e.g. Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus) and viruses (e.g. norovirus and Hepatitis A virus) may accumulate in them if they are grown in or harvested from contaminated water. Consuming oysters without thorough cooking might risk direct intake of these microorganisms. Susceptible groups, such as pregnant women, young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems or liver diseases, should avoid eating them.

Consumers are advised to purchase or consume oysters only from food premises licensed or permitted by the FEHD. The trade and food handlers should understand the importance of adhering to good personal hygiene and proper food handling, and provide regular training on hygiene practices and norovirus-related risks. Hands should be thoroughly washed with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food. Separate utensils and cutting boards should be used for raw and ready-to-eat foods, with regular cleaning and disinfection. Food handlers who exhibit symptoms of infection should refrain from handling food until they have been symptom-free for at least 48 hours.

Hong Kong Celebrates Year of the Horse with Trade Events in Copenhagen and Helsinki

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