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The following is the transcript (English part) of the media session given by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, today (Wednesday):

You have just finished listening to the Financial Secretary's presentation of the Budget. Let me start by saying that this is a very good budget. It meets the needs of the community but at the same time ensures sustained growth in Hong Kong's economy in the coming years.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago during Chinese New Year, the GDP growth in the fourth quarter last year was very substantial. As it turned out, the growth rate was 8.7 per cent. We can look forward to achieving a handsome growth of about five per cent for this year.

In the last few months, the Financial Secretary and I have listened very carefully to the views of the community. We have decided that for the current year we should not raise personal tax or corporate tax, or introduce any new taxes in order to provide a firmer foundation for sustained economic growth in the coming months and years.

Furthermore, it is my firm view that the Government has the responsibility to economise, to improve our efficiency, and to share the community's burden in promoting economic recovery. To achieve this, the Financial Secretary has presented specific measures to enable civil service reforms to continue to progress. I am sure that these measures will be welcomed by the community.

I have been particularly concerned about the prospects of two groups of people :

* young school leavers who are not able to find employment; and

* middle-aged workers who have been displaced by economic restructuring.

I am delighted that the Budget proposes new measures on training to improve employment prospects for these groups of people. It has been my policy priority to improve our services for the elderly, education and the environment. New resources have been allocated to help achieve our objectives in these areas.

In the longer run, we will need to examine whether our tax base is too narrow and whether broad-based taxes should be introduced. We will be appointing a committee to address these questions. I invite the community to consider this question objectively and dispassionately.

As the International Monetary Fund stated a few days ago, a modest deficit for the year 2000 will help our economy to continue its recovery path. The Financial Secretary's budget for this year will help us to achieve higher economic growth. And I know as a community, by working together, Hong Kong will be able to scale new heights.

Chief Executive speaks to media on Budget (Chinese Part)

End/Wednesday, March 8, 2000

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