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Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council 45th Anniversary Cocktail Reception held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this evening (September 20):
Mr So, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
I am indeed very delighted to join you all this evening.
First of all, I must congratulate the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC) on reaching this milestone 45th anniversary. To Jack and his team - and to all those who have contributed to the TDC's work over the years - congratulations on a job very well done!
As some of you may know, I was in Belgium and the United Kingdom earlier this month. It was a very fruitful and successful visit. The success of that visit - like many before it - was in no small part the result of the hard work and support of the TDC. Whenever we go overseas to promote Hong Kong, the TDC is always a willing, helpful and thoroughly professional partner.
Since the TDC was established 1966 it has been an invaluable marketing machine promoting our city and the opportunities for business here. The TDC's unstinting support and efforts have helped to raise the profile of Hong Kong in all corners of the globe.
They are always on the lookout for new markets to explore so our business community can maintain its remarkable momentum. With the help of the TDC, our traders and business people have enjoyed first-mover advantage and benefited greatly from the expansion and liberalisation of the Mainland market.
Today, Hong Kong is more than a premier gateway for foreign firms to understand and tap the vast Mainland markets. Our city is also a launch pad for Mainland companies to "go global". And I know that the TDC is helping to bring Hong Kong and Mainland companies together to expand their horizons in this way. The Government will work with the TDC to further enhance support for such enterprises. Our focus has been on financial, trade, legal, accounting, investment and consultation services where Hong Kong enjoys a clear comparative advantage.
The foundation of our business sector - that is, our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - has also been a principal beneficiary of the TDC's work.
In addition to ongoing programmes such as Entrepreneur Day, the World SME Expo, Customised Business Matching and market research, the TDC last year launched the SME Start-up Programme and the SME Centre.
The SME Start-up Programme attracted more than 14,000 participants last year, while the SME Centre provided nearly 1,100 free advisory sessions for SMEs. At the same time, more than 3,000 customised business matches were arranged for SMEs.
The key to the TDC's enduring success has been its ability to move with the times. As Hong Kong evolved from a manufacturing hub to a services economy, the TDC has also moved forward. The TDC started to promote Hong Kong's services exports in 1996, in addition to its "traditional" role of promoting goods. Last year, more than 5,300 companies participated in the TDC's service promotion activities.
Over the past few years, the TDC has launched a number of successful international events.
The TDC's annual brand-name event, the Asian Financial Forum (AFF), was launched in 2007 to reinforce Hong Kong's core strengths as a financial services hub. Since its launch, the AFF has brought together some of the most influential members of the global financial and business community to discuss the developments and trends in Asia's markets. This year, the AFF attracted a record 1,800 participants, as well as 460 journalists from 32 countries and regions.
The Entertainment Expo is another large, high-profile event staged by the TDC. It was also launched in 2007 and brought together a number of film- and entertainment-related events under one umbrella. It has been a resounding success and now ranks as one of the world's premier film and entertainment trade fairs.
The TDC has continued to work hard to promote Hong Kong as the region's pre-eminent sourcing centre. Three of the TDC's fairs last year were the largest of their kind in the world, while 10 others were the largest in Asia.
Ladies and gentlemen, the superb work by the TDC over the past 45 years has undoubtedly helped Hong Kong consolidate and expand our role as one of Asia's most important business, trade and finance centres. The TDC has done a great job and is an unrivalled asset of Hong Kong.
I wish the TDC every success in the future, and I wish you all a very enjoyable evening, celebrating, I hope, in future, another 45 golden years of the TDC.
Ends/Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Issued at HKT 19:48
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