Guo Shuqing (fifth left, back), acting governor of Shandong province, looks at representatives from the province and Hong Kong companies signing agreements on Wednesday. (Ju Chuanjiang / China Daily)

Guo Shuqing, acting governor of Shandong, emphasized the province's determination to promote the service sector, especially its financial services industry on Wednesday.

"Shandong's future needs financial support," said Guo in a roundtable breakfast meeting with executives of leading finance companies including Blackstone Group and Goldman Sachs (Asia) in Hong Kong.

"Shandong will treat developing its service industry as the major means to changing its growth model and adjusting economic structure, and the finance industry will be the top priority," he added.

The meeting was one important event of the 2013 Shandong-Hong Kong Trade and Investment Week.

The province has achieved satisfactory results in its finance industry. In 2012, the sector's value-added output reached 201.8 billion yuan ($33 billion), up by 19 percent, taking 4 percent of GDP. Total social financing was 928.4 billion yuan, an increase of 118.2 billion yuan.

There were 237 listed companies in Shandong by the end of 2012, which raised 304.8 billion yuan. Up to now, 91 companies are listed overseas, with total financing of 80.6 billion yuan.

Guo said that the current number for listed companies is comparatively smaller, given the large number of companies, and he expects more communication in the financial sectors.

"We expect more investment in Shandong's financial institutions, commercial banks, insurance companies and industry funds," he said, adding that other investment instruments, such as equity and debt, are also needed in the real economy, including transportation and energy.

In 2012, Shandong invested 1.52 trillion yuan in the service industry, up by 13 percent from 2007. The province aims to increase the service industry's GDP contribution from 40 percent in 2012 to more than 50 percent by 2020.

Antony Leung Kam-chung, chairman of Blackstone Group in Greater China, and former financial secretary of Hong Kong, said there could be more room for further cooperation between the company and Shandong in the service sector. "We hope the province can provide preferential policies for private equity (PE) firms."

As an international financial center with strong financing capability and unobstructed channels to overseas markets, Hong Kong has already provided a sound platform for Shandong-based businesses to raise money and go international.

By the end of 2012, 39 Shandong companies had listed on the Hong Kong stock market, raising capital of $7.13 billion.

Charles Li Xiaojia, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd, says the procedure is comparatively simple and more standardized for companies to get listed in Hong Kong.

"There has been benign business interaction between Hong Kong and mainland companies. And I hope we will see more in the future," said Li.

On the same day, a total of 81 major deals with a combined investment of $26 billion were agreed at the 2013 Shandong-Hong Kong Trade and Investment Week.

The deals, including $11 billion in contractual foreign capital, cover sectors ranging from advanced manufacturing, urban construction, modern services, clean energy, logistics, emerging and high-tech industries, to culture as well as tourism.

Contact the writers at linjingcd@chinadaily.com.cn and wangqian2@chinadaily.com.cn