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Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, at a cocktail reception to celebrate the eighth anniversary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited at JW Marriott Hotel this evening (June 19):
Ron (Arculli), Paul (Chow), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening.
It is my great pleasure to celebrate with you the eighth anniversary of HKEx. I congratulate HKEx on the great strides you have made so far.
Last year was, indeed, a memorable year for HKEx. It attained the highest income and profit attributable to shareholders since its listing in year 2000. Its share price has soared by almost 40 times since its stock market debut. Globally, Hong Kong's stock market ranks seventh in the world and third in Asia in terms of market capitalisation.
Thanks to committed parties like HKEx, Hong Kong has, through good times, and bad, remained on top of the game - consolidating its position as Asiaˇ¦s most vibrant financial centre.
That's actually not too bad an effort. But, for all of us here, we know it's not yet good enough. We want to build on this solid footing to develop Hong Kong as a truly global financial centre on a par with London and New York.
While we do have some catching up to do, the "Nylonkong" concept coined by TIME Magazine recognises Hong Kongˇ¦s unique potential in the Asian time zone. So does the London City's latest Global Financial Centres Index which places Hong Kong third - behind London and New York - in the league of international financial centres.
Together with HKEx and the Securities and Futures Commission, we are working to improve the regulatory regime, upgrade market infrastructure, promote financial intermediary activities, encourage financial innovation and launch new financial products.
One of our latest moves is to develop an Islamic finance platform in Hong Kong to tap a market with an estimated value of US$1 trillion. Development of a commodities futures market is also a natural extension of our financial markets.
The commodities market is an area that has tremendous potential. That is a direction that is worth pursuing in order for us to further deepen and broaden our financial market in a continuous effort to enhance Hong Kong's status as a truly global financial centre. I understand also that you are going to launch a new product, the Hong Kong Depositary Receipts, next month. I wish you every success.
Looking ahead, we can expect the next 12 months to be a challenging time. The primary concern is the credit crunch brought on by the US sub-prime crisis, as well as a possible economic recession in the US. Being a small, externally oriented economy, Hong Kong's growth could be hampered by the global inflationary pressure under a negative interest rate environment. Possible adjustments in the global investment environment are also a matter of concern. But as the market wisdom goes: where there is volatility, there is opportunity for profits. You undoubtedly know this better than I.
Ladies and gentlemen, my birthday greeting to the HKEx is a simple one: let's all work together to ride on the opportunities and lift our financial markets to even greater heights in the coming year!
Thank you.
Ends/Thursday, June 19, 2008
Issued at HKT 18:49
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