********************************************************
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Singapore has joined the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Hong Kong tourist attraction operators to stage a Hong Kong Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
The three-day event which began today (June 22) also launches a series of celebration activities organised by the HKETO in Southeast Asia to promote Hong Kong.
"To mark the special occasion and to promote the achievements of Hong Kong in the last decade to a wider audience, our office has lined up a series of activities to be held from this month to September," the Director of the HKETO, Mr K K Lam, said. "The highlight will be a cocktail reception, cultural performance and exhibition on June 28 in Singapore. More than 300 leaders from the government, diplomatic, finance, business and academic sectors as well as media representatives in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will join us in our celebration."
The office will also partner the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry to organise a business forum next month (July) in Singapore featuring prominent speakers from Hong Kong and Singapore. It aims to focus ASEAN businessmen's attention on the significant roles of Hong Kong in bridging Mainland China and the region.
On the cultural side, a Hong Kong Film Festival will be launched in Singapore in September to showcase 10 Hong Kong productions in the last decade and to introduce a diverse spectrum of Hong Kong films.
"We are pleased to stage our special exhibition of Hong Kong at the Putra World Trade Trade Centre today to highlight, among other themes, the successful implementation of the 'One Country, Two Systems', and our developments in economy, business, infrastructure, sports and culture. Hong Kong indeed has much to celebrate, as illustrated in this exhibition," Mr Lam said.
He told Malaysian media that right from the first day of the handover, there was a huge amount of interest in how Hong Kong would change.
"Now, I am pleased to say we have retained the top spot as the 'World's Freest Economy' for the past 13 years.
"Put simply, from 1997 to now, the numbers are overwhelmingly up. For example, our total external trade almost doubled from US$372.3 billion to US$641.8 billion. Our gross domestic product per capita has also increased to US$27,600.
"In fact, Hong Kong is now enjoying entrenched economic growth. We now have the world's eighth largest stock market by capitalisation - with market cap four times greater than it was in 1997. We are also the world's 11th largest trading economy, and remain Asia's most popular city for foreign companies as the number of foreign-owned regional offices and headquarters has risen by more than 50% to more than 3,800," he said.
The three-day event in Kuala Lumpur is expected to attract about 60,000 visitors based on attendance figures of previous years.
The Tourism Board is also making use of the occasion to promote special HKSAR 10th Anniversary Gala Holiday Packages to encourage more Malaysian tourists to visit Hong Kong.
"We hope people in Malaysia will share our joy in this uniquely memorable occasion and learn more about Hong Kong, 10 years after the handover, through visiting Asia's world city," Mr Lam said.
The focus of Malaysian interest in Hong Kong was also enhanced through the publication on Wednesday (June 20) of a 'Hong Kong Special' in a leading English newspaper.
Ends/Friday, June 22, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:24
NNNN
