In this week's episode, Orientis has the honour of having Mr Franz Roessler, the Austrian Trade Commissioner for Hong Kong and Macau, reintroduce the manufacturing hidden champion, Austria. Mr Roessler not only shared the secrets of why Austria can minimise the impact brought by covid, but also the booming economy with the help of the Next Generation European Union Funds and the Investment Premium. Moreover, Mr Roessler also revealed the picture of future Austria, China and Hong Kong economic collaboration and the tips for international start-ups about how to start their businesses in Austria.

專訪奧地利商務專員Mr. Franz Roessler：「隱形冠軍」——奧地利如何在歐盟甚至全球默默產生影響力？國際初創企業又如何在奧地利大展拳腳？

在本期節目中，我們很榮幸邀請到奧地利商務專員Franz Roessler先生介紹製造業的隱形冠軍——奧地利。 Roessler 先生不僅分享了奧地利能夠在新冠疫情中維持穩定經濟的原因外，還分析了「下一代歐盟」基金和「投資退稅」政策 ( Investment Premium)如何進一步幫助奧地利吸納外資，從而令經濟發展更蓬勃。不但如此，Roessler先生也透露了未來奧地利、中國和香港經濟合作的前景，以及國際初創企業如何在奧地利開展業務的秘訣。

In our first segment, we’re honoured to have Mr. Franz Roessler unmask Austria's mystery apart from the well-known development in culture and music. Mr. Roessler sees Austria as the bridge between Eastern and Western Europe, a hugely rewarding destination for future Hong Kong investors. In addition to sharing his work experiences in Hong Kong and Beijing, he explained the advantages of the European single market. Lastly, Mr. Roessler shared the significance of the Austrian manufacturing sector on technological innovation and the vision of promoting the manufacturing sector in Hong Kong or China.

在第一期節目中，我們很榮幸邀請到奧地利港澳貿易專員—Mr. Franz Roessler揭露奧地利除了在文化和音樂方面舉世聞名之外，其經濟領域亦有優勝之處。對Franz 而言，奧地利是連接東歐和西歐之間的橋樑，其地理優勢使其極具投資價值，值得香港或亞洲投資者探索。Franz除了分享了他在香港和北京的工作經歷外，亦解釋了歐洲單一市場對商貿和勞動市場的好處。最後，Franz 分享了奧地利製造業對創新科技的重要性，並將製造業推廣到香港或中國的願景。

In the second segment, we discussed the impacts of the Covid-19 and the outbreak of Omicron that affected Austria as an export-oriented economy. Mr. Roessler talked about how Austria recovered from the pandemic through industry diversification. Moreover, Mr. Roessler explained how the Next Generation European Union Funds fostered Austria's recovery externally. Subsequently, he also talked about how the internal governmental policy, the Investment Premium, as a strategy to motivate investments, which results in economic growth in Austria. Lastly, Mr. Roessler also talked about the goal of Austria's green transition.

在第二部分中，我們討論了 Covid-19 和 Omicron 爆發對奧地利作為出口導向型經濟體的影響。Franz亦談到了奧地利如何通過發展不同產業從而在大流行中復甦經濟。此外，Franz 解釋了奧地利如何藉歐盟為協助歐洲從疫情中恢復經濟而成立的「次世代歐盟」基金 (Next Generation European Union Funds )，而促進經濟增長。隨後，Franz 還談到了奧地利政府對內以「投資退稅」政策 ( Investment Premium)，透過減低投資成本作為一種激勵投資的策略。最後，Franz 還談到了奧地利在未來綠色轉型的目標。

We will continue to discuss the industry that Austria is most proud of, and how she becomes one of the leading manufacturing countries in Europe. As most of us might not be familiar with the term “Hidden Champions”, Mr. Roessler provided multiple examples to help us understand how the Austrian companies become the “Hidden Champions” in the manufacturing sector. Moreover, Mr. Roessler also introduced the structure of Austrian companies, which is different from the typical company structure. Lastly, we also discussed the dominant position of Austria in the railway industry and the importance of railway logistics in the business world.

我們將繼續討論奧地利引以為傲的製造業，並探討其怎樣成為在歐洲領先的製造業國家。為了讓我們對「隱形冠軍」這詞有更深入的理解，Franz將透過多個例子來說明奧地利公司如何成為製造業的「隱形冠軍」。此外，Franz 還講述了奧地利公司有別於一般公司的結構。最後，我們還討論了奧地利在鐵路行業的主導地位，以及鐵路物流在商業世界中的重要性。

In the fourth segment, we will focus on governmental support for international startups and talents in Austria. Mr. Roessler explained that Austria has well-established systems for welcoming non-German speakers and the tax structure also benefits the startups to establish their business in Austria. Mr. Roessler also explained why Hong Kong startups should establish their business in Austria. Moreover, Mr. Roessler shared some tips for Hong Kong startups that attempt to land in Austria. Lastly, Mr. Roessler introduced different Austrian governmental programs and events such as the ViennaUP Festival that provide support and opportunities for international startups.

在第四部分中，我們將集中討論奧地利政府對國際初創企業和人才所提供的支持。Franz 指出奧地利目前擁有完善的制度以吸引非德語人士，而稅收結構亦有利於企業在奧地利開展業務。Franz 還解釋了香港的企業應在奧地利開展業務的益處和原因，更分享了香港初創公司在奧地利開展業務的秘訣。最後，Franz 介紹了奧地利政府各種旨在為國際初創企業提供支持和機會的項目和活動，例如「升級維也納節」(ViennaUP Festival )，是奧地利著名連接國際初創企業和投資者的活動。

東西歐橋樑：專訪奧地利商務專員Franz Roessler

Summary

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