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Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at a luncheon in honour of the Prime Minister of Belgium, Mr Guy Verhofstadt, at The Ritz Carlton today (November 12) (English only):
Prime Minister, Ministers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to warmly welcome the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance back to Hong Kong. It is always a pleasure to see our Belgian friends, who share with us a common desire to build ever-closer business and cultural ties between Belgium and Hong Kong.
Hong Kong and Belgium have many things in common. Being small and open to the world, we have each employed our strengths to become regional gateways. Belgium is at the heart of Europe, hosting the headquarters of several major international organisations. Hong Kong is the most popular place in Asia for international companies to set up their regional operations. We have both developed into cosmopolitan communities with a substantial population of foreign nationals, active diplomatic corps and big concentration of foreign journalists, international schools and foreign banks.
In Hong Kong, some 700 Belgian nationals and 135 companies make up the vibrant Belgian community. We are fortunate to have the Belgium-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and the Belgian Club, which are very active in the business and social spheres here. Over in Brussels, the Belgium-Hong Kong Society hosts an annual Chinese New Year event and works diligently to promote commercial, social and cultural links between us.
I am happy to see the robust growth of our bilateral trade which owes in no small part to the landmark Double Taxation Agreement between Belgium and Hong Kong. The Agreement is a powerful tool to facilitate two-way investment flows. Indeed, when the diamond manufacturer IGC became the latest Belgian company to establish its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong, it cited the Double Taxation Agreement as one of the attractions.
There are plenty of other reasons why international companies set up in Hong Kong: the rule of law, upheld by an independent judiciary; a low and simple tax system; a minimum of red tape; a fully convertible currency; the free flow of capital and information; and many more. At the same time, Mainland companies are increasingly using Hong Kong as their platform to raise capital and reach out to international markets.
As China's economy continues to grow dramatically, Hong Kong has leveraged its advantages to play an important role in our country's economic development. Hong Kong is the business services and logistics hub of the Pearl River Delta (PRD), known as "the factory of the world". Now, that co-operation is being extended to include nine southern provinces of China, plus the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, in the Pan-PRD development initiative. The initiative aims to break down local barriers to trade to create a huge common market with a population the size of the European Union's. So, like Brussels, Hong Kong is becoming the hub of a vast and prosperous regional economy.
This will create more opportunities for Belgian companies, as does CEPA, our Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement with the Mainland. I would like to encourage Belgian companies, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, to take advantage of CEPA and use Hong Kong as their base for doing business in China and the rest of Asia.
Prime Minister, it is wonderful that you could visit Hong Kong during the month-long Best of Belgium 2005 festival, which aims to show our local people, in the words of your esteemed Consul-General, Mr Nijs, that Belgium is "not only about quality chocolates and beer" – a statement I can certainly verify from personal experience.
I wish you all the best on the rest of your trip. I am confident that business people elsewhere will respond just as avidly as those in Hong Kong to the opportunities available in your country. We value your friendship, and want you to know that you and your countrymen are always welcome in Asia's world city.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, please rise to join me in a toast:
"To the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, to the continued close and productive Belgian-Hong Kong partnership. To Belgium."
Ends/Saturday, November 12, 2005
Issued at HKT 13:36
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