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Following is a speech (English only) by the Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, at the opening ceremony of the new Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Building in Tokyo today (Tuesday):

Hon Hata, Hon Kaifu, Hon Mori, Hon Takemi, Ambassador Chen, Dear guests,

It gives me great pleasure to be here today to officiate at this ceremony to mark the opening of the new Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Building. I'm particularly delighted to see you in such numbers. Your presence is indicative of the warm support that Hong Kong has received from Japan over the years.

Hong Kong and Japan have always had a close and amicable relationship. You are our third largest trading partner. In 1997, our bilateral trade amounted to nearly US$40 billion. You are also the largest overseas investor in Hong Kong's manufacturing sector. There are now some 2,000 Japanese companies operating in Hong Kong, of which some 500 have based their regional headquarters or offices in Hong Kong. And our closeness has extended beyond the realm of trade. Different ideas, different cultures, blending the best of East and West have famously enriched the life in Hong Kong. Japan has made signal contribution in this regard. Hong Kong is now home to over 26,000 Japanese residents. It continues to be a very popular destination for Japanese tourists. Japanese appliances, food and pop culture have become an integral part of the Hong Kong community. I am glad to tell you that in 1998, a record 560,000 Hong Kong residents visited this beautiful country of yours.

The recent financial turmoil has swept through all Asian economies and Hong Kong has not escaped the fallout from the crisis. But it has not derailed our development plans. Indeed, it has sharpened our vision and galvanized our strength to aim at higher goals.

Hong Kong people have shown so many times in the past they have the resilience and resourcefulness to negotiate the twists and turns of economic cycles. We make the most of the good times but we also have a great capacity to turn bad times to our advantage. We are going through a difficult period of rapid and painful adjustment. But the adjustments, like bitter pills, will strengthen our economic infrastructure. I have no doubt that we will emerge from the current downturn wiser and stronger.

I will not repeat Mr. Leung's superlatives about this building. Suffice it to say the opening of this building underlines the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government's clearest commitment to continuing to build a stronger and closer partnership with Japan. It will bear witness to the collective efforts that both my colleagues and our Japanese contractors have put into the project, and demonstrate yet again that the Hong Kong - Japan partnership means business - it can get things done, and can do them well.

I offer my heartiest congratulations to all who have contributed to the project. What we must now do is to work hard to make the Hong Kong - Japan partnership an even greater success.

Thank you.

End/Tuesday, February 9, 1999

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