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The Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, who is in Singapore to attend the APEC Finance Ministersˇ¦ Meeting, held bilateral meetings today (November 11) with his counterparts from Singapore and Brunei.
Mr Tsang first met the Singaporean Finance Minister, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam. They exchanged views on stimulus measures their respective governments introduced in response to the global financial crisis. Both agreed that it would be premature to withdraw the measures before economic recovery was firmly in place and exit strategies carefully worked out
Mr Tsang then met Second Finance Minister of Brunei, Pehin Dato Abd Rahman, and briefed him, among other things, on Hong Kongˇ¦s plans to develop a platform for Islamic finance.
During the meeting, Brunei expressed an interest in concluding a Comprehensive Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement with Hong Kong. It is also interested in working out a joint exit strategy for the 100 per cent deposit protection schemes introduced in the economies in the region during the global financial crisis.
Mr Tsang will meet the Singaporean Foreign Secretary, Mr George Yeo, tomorrow morning (November 12) after which he will participate in the APEC Finance Ministersˇ¦ Retreat and two plenary sessions.
Ends/Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:00
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