(Yicai) July 22 -- An increasing number of cultural, creative, sports, and entertainment Chinese mainland companies are leveraging a new specialized institution set up in Hong Kong to help them go global, after the Special Administrative Region government launched the GoGlobal Task Force platform last year.

The creative industries, sports, and entertainment team of the Invest Hong Kong agency has provided services to nearly 200 companies launching operations in Hong Kong since it was established last year, with more than 70 of them settling in the city, about 35 percent of which came from the mainland, according to data released at a roundtable event held in Shanghai yesterday.

Content export platform Xiaowu Brothers was the first mainland company to be included in YouTube's official supplier directory for short-form dramas, General Manager Zhang Chunhe told Yicai at the event. The firm runs under a dual headquarters model, with Hangzhou as its content operation base and Hong Kong handling global business and legal affairs, he added.

Xiaowu Brothers experienced rapid growth in recent years thanks to the surge in global demand for short dramas and the rise of generative artificial intelligence, he noted. The company has signed international distribution deals for over 10,000 short dramas, with the number soaring by 2,000 to 3,000 each month, he pointed out.

The global production capacity for AI short dramas is concentrated in China, so audiences overseas need to obtain authorization to access such content, Zhang said. By operating in Hong Kong, companies can more easily sign agreements and engage in licensing negotiations with global platforms such as YouTube and Facebook, he stressed.

Sports entertainment brand PARTYDAY also hopes to expand its overseas market through Hong Kong, which offers an international business environment and a mature legal and intellectual property protection system, said Xu Yaqi, the Shenzhen-based firm's local business manager. The city is also rich in resources related to finance, professional services, sports, cultural innovation, and brand marketing, Xu noted.

Hong Kong is an ideal gateway for the mainland's cultural innovation, sports, and entertainment industries to reach a global audience, according to Clara Fong, creative industries, sports, and entertainment president at Invest Hong Kong. The city serves as a global intellectual property trading center and hosts several related international exhibitions each year, helping businesses connect with global brands, she added.

In addition, Hong Kong offers financial services that link to the world, a favorable tax system, and supports the free flow of capital, she stressed.

Mainland companies can set up international business operation HQs in Hong Kong to coordinate overseas market marketing and customer service, initially targeting Southeast and North Asia, before expanding to the Middle East and the European Union, Fong added.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev