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Following is the transcript (English portion) of a media session given by the Financial Secretary, Mr Henry Tang, after attending the Hong Kong Economic Summit luncheon this afternoon (August 23).
Reporter: Are you pleased with the latest CPI figures of Hong Kong's economy?
Financial Secretary: We will be announcing our latest CPI figures this afternoon. I believe it is not too premature to say that we will end 68 months of deflation. It has been a very difficult period. (It) has been a painful adjustment period and like I said in the past most economists know how to deal with inflation but deflation is something that is not taught in textbooks. While I deliver a piece of good news that we will have turned the corner on deflation and the general consensus of economists is that a healthy dose of inflation is good for the economy, I certainly do not want to see (the increase in CPI to become) too fast or too big. It will put pressure on the other end. So it still remains a challenge for us. It is an opportunity that we are now joining this window of growth, but it does still pose other challenges.
Reporter: Can you elaborate more on the meaning "running out of time" which you said in your summary of the summit?
Financial Secretary: I said that there was very strong consensus on many fronts. Our differentiation with the Mainland is that we are an international city. How we should leverage on those strengths that we have and build up our financial and human resources as well as other capital. It is essential to build on our strengths. But time is running out because many other competitors see us as their main competitor and they are coming after us. Hong Kong welcomes competition because competition will make us excel, and it will prevent us from being complacent. Time is short so we have to grasp those windows.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Monday, August 23, 2004
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