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The Director-General of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, Mr Andrew Leung today (June 23, London time) re-assured the investment bankers in the City that Hong Kong's economy would be revitalised after SARS.
Addressing a group of investment bankers in the 'Hong Kong Corporate Day' event held by Morgan Stanley immediately after WHO had removed Hong Kong from the SARS affected areas, Mr Leung elaborated on the medium and longer economic prospect of Hong Kong.
" Now that we have been taken off the list of SARS-affected areas, there is no doubt that our next major challenge is to revitalise our economy and restore business activity to pre-SARS levels, and beyond," said Mr Leung.
Mr Leung said: "This milestone today in our battle against SARS provides us with an opportunity to look ahead. It signals the beginning of the recovery phase of our economic relaunch and also the revival of our tourism, business travel and convention and exhibition industries in Hong Kong."
"Also earlier in April the Government launched a package of measures involving a total of HK$11.8 billion to provide support for the various affected sectors, and we hope this would help lessen the pain of our community," said Mr Leung.
Apart from the immediate efforts to relaunch Hong Kong's economy in the various sectors mentioned above, Mr Leung also reiterated the fundamentals of Hong Kong, which are the pillars of its long-term economic development.
Over the past two years, the number of new US companies set up in Hong Kong (mostly as regional headquarters) had grown by 33%, Japanese companies by 44%, Australian by 53% and European by 23%.
Mr Leung said: "These companies are there because of Hong Kong's synergism with an enormous Mainland China market with an estimated size at US$1.2 trillion, growing at 7% per annum and making China the Factory of the World. This Factory is in Guangdong Province's Pearl River Delta where Hong Kong supplies over 70% of Foreign Direct Investment. Over 80% of South China's cargoes are exported through Hong Kong - the busiest container port in the world.
"So Hong Kong is already the dynamo behind the Pearl River Delta powerhouse; a key logistics portal for the flow of its multifarious goods and services; and a leading international banker to the entire China market."
Furthermore the critical mass of an accelerating huge internal market in China has taken shape with the rapid growth of 200 million middle class consumers in its coastal cities. It is estimated that China is to import US$1,400 billion worth of facilities, products, equipment and expertise for the next 5 years, not least in connection with some of the huge infrastructural projects being launched on the Mainland, including the Three Gorges Dam and the water diversion project linking the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. These developments are integrated one way or another with Hong Kong, including capital and trade finance, freight and transportation, supply chain management, professional, marketing and other services.
Additionally, Mainland enterprises are increasingly investing outwards as China is poised to be further integrated into the global market.
"The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between Hong Kong and the Mainland will open up many new and exciting opportunities for Hong Kong, providing free-flow of goods, services and investment, both in the service sector and the manufacturing sector," he said.
"All these strong fundamentals would underpin our determination in revitalizing our economy to pre-SARS levels and beyond," concluded Mr Leung.
End/Tuesday, June 24, 2003
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