Every three in ten Hong Kong enterprises have plans to increase their investment in the Chinese mainland in the following two years, according to a HSBC survey released on Monday.

The survey, conducted in the first two month of 2010, covered over 1,000 Hong Kong enterprises in different economic sectors.

About 50 percent of those polled have already started business in the mainland market, with the majority of them involved in equipment, construction materials, garments and textile industries.

According to the survey, 51 percent of these enterprises with established business interests in the mainland said they will increase investment in the coming two years.

Meanwhile, for those who have yet to tap the potential of the mainland market, 14 percent said they will "go north."

With the two parts combined, it suggests that some 32 percent of Hong Kong enterprises have plans to put more money into the Chinese mainland.

The survey also found that the neighboring province of Guangdong, the Yangtze River Delta region, Beijing and the Pan-Bohai economic zone are among the hottest target markets for the Hong Kong enterprises.