Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych arrived Saturday in Hong Kong with a delegation comprising senior officials and business leaders, with an aim to attract more investment into his country from the Asian financial hub.

At a luncheon with the Hong Kong business community, Yanukovych said despite differences in terms of history and culture, China and Ukraine share many common traits and the two countries have " huge prospect" for economic cooperation.

He noted that Ukraine has many leading edges of its own, including its role as the world's key energy transit country, its fast-developing software industry, its space technology and its vast and rich arable land.

He added that as the co-host of 2012 European Football Championship, Ukraine will soon become a "gigantic construction site" as it starts building stadiums and related infrastructures.

The Ukrainian president said since his country has already gained political stability to power its economy from the inside, it's now in need of "eternal forces."

"We expect to learn from your experience of successes," he told HK business leaders attending the luncheon.

He invited Hong Kong business people to invest in Ukraine, saying they could now benefit from a mutual-visa cancellation pact signed earlier on the day between Hong Kong and Ukraine.

The host of the luncheon, Chairman of HK's trade promotion agency HKTDC Fred Lam, said an increasing number of HK companies are becoming aware of Ukraine's vast promises.

He believed Hong Kong has a vital role to play in promoting trade ties between Ukraine and the Chinese mainland given its status as the prime gateway to the Chinese mainland and as the world's leading financial center.

Lam said trade volume between Hong Kong and Ukraine reached 78 million U.S. dollars in the first half of 2010, representing a year-on-year increase of 33 percent. "That I believe, is just the beginning," he said.

Yanukovych arrived in Beijing on Sept. 2 to start his first state visit to China. Aside from Beijing and Hong Kong, his China trip will also take him to Shanghai.

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