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Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, at the Opening Ceremony of Entertainment Expo Hong Kong and Asian Film Awards Presentation Ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this evening (March 23):
Jack, Tony, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening.
I am delighted to be here tonight to welcome you all to the opening of this year's Hong Kong Entertainment Expo. A particularly warm welcome to those of you who have travelled long distances to be here with us.
In the relatively short space of five years, this Expo has emerged as one of the most prestigious and most significant events for the entertainment industry in Asia. Thank you all for your continued support.
I won't speak for long because I'm sure that you are all keen to get on with the real entertainment. But I will take this opportunity to share with you a few of my thoughts about the local entertainment industry, and why the creative sector is so important to our city.
At last count, we have around 32,000 creative industry establishments in Hong Kong, with more than 170,000 people engaged in an enormous variety of activities. From jewellery design to fashion, from painting to interactive games, and from making music to making films; we have them all. They contribute more than $60 billion annually to our GDP.
As a film enthusiast myself, I am pleased to say that 2008 was a good year for our film industry. In 2008, films produced in Hong Kong, or with the involvement of Hong Kong film talent, won 39 awards in 16 film festivals and competitions around the world.
In terms of market development, the industry has established strong ties with Mainland China - the largest market in Asia. A vehicle for these closer ties is our unique free trade agreement with the Mainland, what we call CEPA. One of the many advantages of CEPA is that it facilitates co-productions between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Last year, seven out of the 10 domestic blockbusters on the Mainland with the highest box office receipts were Hong Kong-Mainland co-productions.
By extension, Hong Kong offers an unrivalled partnership opportunity for overseas production houses to explore the Mainland market. In addition to CEPA, we also have the experience, the contacts and the know-hows to make the most of new opportunities across the boundary.
Looking further afield, the Film Development Council has launched a new project, "Hong Kong Film: New Action". Here we aim to promote the new generation of local film directors and help develop markets for our films in Southeast Asia. This topic provides the focus for a series of business forums and promotional sessions during this Expo. I'm sure that you will find them interesting.
Earlier, I mentioned the importance of creative industries to our overall economy.
We will shortly establish a new office - "Create Hong Kong" (CreateHK) - to support the development of our creative industries. CreateHK will realign resources from various government departments to enable us to respond more effectively to the industries' demands, and better serve them through a one-stop service.
In my Budget last month, I earmarked $300 million, to support the development of our creative industries over the coming three years. This will be in addition to the existing funding schemes established to support our design and film sectors. The Government's total financial commitment to creative industries is currently more than $1 billion. No doubt, this Expo will help to generate some good ideas on how to make the best use of these resources.
In closing, I would like to thank the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society for their work in making this event the best of its kind in Asia.
I wish you all an enjoyable and fruitful Entertainment Expo and for those of you coming from overseas a great stay in Hong Kong.
Thank you very much. Have a great evening.
Ends/Monday, March 23, 2009
Issued at HKT 21:25
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