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Following is the speech delivered by the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, at the Make a Difference Ventures Salon this morning (January 25):
Distinguished speakers, guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.
It is indeed a great pleasure for me to join you this morning for this Make a Difference (MaD) Ventures Salon.
First of all, congratulations to all the MaD Venture Fellows who are making a difference to our world. Your ideas, as well as your hard work in bringing your ideas to reality, are truly inspiring for us.
I also commend the six MaD Venture Star Finalists on their innovations that will be presented later on today. Each of them seems to have uniquely strong merit, and in some ways I am glad that I am not a member of the judging panel that will have to make some tough decisions later on. However, I did notice some text-to-video technology that could help to liven up some of our Government press releases, and perhaps some of our speeches, including mine. But that is a thought for another day.
We should also remember that many of the fabulous ideas would not be able to get off the drawing board without the financial backing of investors and guidance of mentors who have all placed their trust and belief in our new generation of entrepreneurs.
I am delighted that Hong Kong is hosting this event, which brings together capital, talent and ideas. These are key elements that lend support to the entrepreneurial spirit in a great networking environment, like Hong Kong.
I believe that Hong Kong does have enormous potential to develop into a hotbed for innovation.
Here in Hong Kong, we have exceptionally bright and hardworking young people with great ideas. We are receptive to people coming to Hong Kong, and entrepreneurs in Hong Kong have the support of Government, and increasingly, more and more people are joining the ranks of investors who also want to make a difference to the lives of others.
As well as home-grown talent, Hong Kong holds many attractions for young entrepreneurs from around the world - and I am not just referring to Lan Kwai Fong!
For example, Hong Kong is renowned for its effective rule of law, robust IP protection, world-class financial infrastructure, experience in doing business in the Mainland, Asia and so forth.
All this, together with a full range of services that are provided by the Government, such as the BUD Fund (Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales), the ITF (Innovation and Technology Fund), the Microfinance Scheme and etc, is highly conducive to the success of new start-ups.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for this opportunity to meet you all this morning. I hope that this event will strengthen your impression of Hong Kong as an entrepreneurial hub in Asia.
You can think of Hong Kong as your first port of call in bringing ideas to market in this dynamic region.
I would like to wish the MaD Venture Fellows every success with their innovations, and our visitors a wonderful stay here with us in Hong Kong.
Thank you very much and have a great day.
Ends/Friday, January 25, 2013
Issued at HKT 13:11
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