UK-based education tools developer ED.UK.8 Worldwide Ltd. announced Tuesday the opening of its Hong Kong office.

The main function of the Hong Kong office is to market its educational toys, tools, media and appliances for toddlers and young children and to serve as a springboard to enter Chinese mainland market, the company said.

Chairman of the company Christine Lawson said, "We are very excited about the opening of our Asia-Pacific office -- ED.UK.8 Kids Ltd.-- in Hong Kong. Hong Kong people have always placed a significant emphasis on children's education. We saw the huge demand here for education supplements, in particular for English learning and multiple-intelligence."

"Hong Kong is a business friendly place, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Hong Kong's advantages -- including central location in Asia, open and corruption-free government, level playing field and a simple and low tax regime -- help foreign SMEs like ED.UK.8 Worldwide group to grow and prosper in Hong Kong. In view of these advantages of setting up operations in Hong Kong, it took us less than one year to decide to establish our regional base here," commented Lawson.

According to the Managing Director of ED.UK.8 Worldwide Ltd., Roger Walker, the company considers Hong Kong as Asia headquarters, a very important base for them to seek customers' response outside Britain on their innovative learning materials.

The company also plans to make use of Hong Kong to further develop their markets in Chinese mainland and other Asia countries.

"Parents' concern with kids' home learning is the trend. Our missions are to integrate school and home learning, as ‘The Road to Smart’ for kids," Managing Director of ED.UK.8 Kids Ltd. Johnny Leung said.

At the opening ceremony of ED.UK.8 Kids Ltd., Associate Director-General for Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Simon Galpin, welcomed the company's decision to invest in Hong Kong.

"We are pleased to see Hong Kong being selected by ED.UK.8 Worldwide as the springboard to expand outside of UK. The investment made by ED.UK.8 Worldwide in Hong Kong has clearly demonstrated the company's confidence in our city as the key education market in Asia," said Galpin.

He said, "We hope that ED.UK.8 Kids Ltd. will have every success in Hong Kong and the region. We look forward to seeing the company benefiting from their operation in Hong Kong and using our city as a base for the development, sourcing and delivery of their educational products for their home market and markets in other parts of the world."

Invest Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government department charged with encouraging and facilitating foreign investment into the city by providing all the support needed to establish a business presence here.

(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2004)