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South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong firms eye proprietary Chinese medicine opportunities on the mainland: HKTDC
Beijing's move to simplify the process for approving oral proprietary Chinese medicine (PCM) from Hong Kong to be sold across the border has created new opportunities for firms in the city to exploit the mainland's 450 billion yuan (US$62.8 billion) market, according to Hong Kong's trade promotion body. The streamlined procedures have opened a more convenient channel for Hong Kong companies to expand into the mainland, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in a report published on Thursday. 'We understand that some companies are making preparations to take advantage of the new rules,' said Wing Chu, principal economist and head of Greater China research at the council. 'But we are talking about pharmaceuticals, so there are still hurdles to clear and approvals do not happen overnight.' Since late April, oral PCM products that have been sold in Hong Kong for more than 15 years, and whose production processes complied with 'good manufacturing practices', were eligible for the simplified approval process. PCM refers to traditional Chinese medicines in tablet or capsule form that are made from herbs, animal parts or minerals. The city exported HK$2.88 billion (US$367 million) worth of PCM products last year, 93 per cent of which were locally produced. Over 70 per cent of those exports went to mainland China. Before the simplified rules were implemented, the process for Hong Kong firms entering the mainland market was not straightforward due to different technical standards.
RTHK
4 days ago
- Business
- RTHK
'HK-made Chinese medicines to grow in popularity'
'HK-made Chinese medicines to grow in popularity' Wing Chu (left) says streamlined approval procedures offer more opportunities for Hong Kong-made proprietary Chinese medicines to be sold on the mainland. Photo: RTHK Hong Kong-made proprietary Chinese medicine products have great potential to enter mainland and overseas markets, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said on Thursday. The mainland, which is the largest proprietary Chinese medicine market valued at 450 billion yuan, has streamlined the registration and approval procedures for products from Hong Kong. At a press conference, the council's principal economist of Greater China, Wing Chu, said Hong Kong's exports of proprietary Chinese medicines totalled HK$2.88 billion last year. More than 70 percent of the city's products were exported to the mainland, followed by 20 percent to Macau. Although the mainland mainly relies on its own drug production and only imports a small amount of Chinese medicines, over half of its imported proprietary Chinese medicines are from Hong Kong, Chu said. He added that the streamlined approval procedures offer more opportunities for Hong Kong businesses to expand into the Greater Bay Area and other mainland cities. 'Maybe Hong Kong-produced products are not the cheapest in the market, and there are a lot of alternative choices over there, but Hong Kong proprietary Chinese medicine products have a [good reputation] in mainland China, especially in the southern part of mainland China,' he said. Chu said there is also demand for Chinese medicines in overseas markets, particularly in Southeast Asia. 'But apart from this, there is also a lot of demand … even in the US or some European countries. They also have a demand for the traditional Chinese medicines. And this actually provides a very good market potential for us to explore,' he said. The council also said the opening of Hong Kong's first Chinese medicine hospital at the end of the year will help make proprietary Chinese medicines even more popular.
