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Following is the speech by the Acting Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the awards presentation ceremony of the 2013 Hong Kong Awards for Industries at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this evening (October 24):
Professor Tony Chan, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure to join you tonight to pay tribute to outstanding industrialists and entrepreneurs of Hong Kong who have made remarkable achievements in their businesses. I wish to offer my warmest congratulations to the winners of the 2013 Hong Kong Awards for Industries (HKAI).
Winning an award under the HKAI is a prestigious symbol for quality and excellence. Before commencement of this presentation ceremony, I have had the privilege of touring the exhibition booths of the 2013 Grand Award winners. I am highly impressed by their exemplary achievements in design, customer service, creativity, technological innovation and productivity. These attributes are essential elements for the success of Hong Kong as a vibrant and highly competitive economy. They are also vital for our businesses to stay ahead in the global market.
While the achievements of our winners merit recognition and celebration, there is always room for even further improvement. I encourage the winners and indeed all our entrepreneurs to aspire to new heights, strive for excellence, and proactively adapt to changes in the market, so as to seize new opportunities and meet new challenges. In this regard, I assure you that Hong Kong enterprises will not be on their own. The Government is always with them.
The Government is committed to creating a facilitative environment for our businesses and providing necessary support for their sustainable growth and development.
We have put in place credit guarantee schemes and arrangements for our businesses which ease their access to finance.
We provide funding support to encourage our enterprises to invest in designs and other creative activities.
To support innovation and technology development, we operate various schemes with funding from the Innovation and Technology Fund. One of them is a Cash Rebate Scheme which subsidises our enterprises in conducting research and development.
There are also programmes to help our enterprises expand their markets. For example, we provide funding support for small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in trade exhibitions and trade missions, or place advertisements in trade publications and on the Internet. We launched a $1 billion funding scheme last year to assist enterprises in developing brands, upgrading and restructuring, or marketing their products or services in the Mainland.
The above are just some of the Government's support measures for our enterprises. I encourage you to make good use of them to enhance your competitiveness.
I must of course also pay tribute to the tremendous work of the Productivity Council, the Science and Technology Parks Corporation, and the Trade Development Council, all of which are partially funded by the Government, in supporting our enterprises to achieve excellence and to grow their businesses.
Last but not the least, the Government will work closely with industrial and business organisations, including four of the co-organisers tonight which are our trusted partners, to address the concerns of our enterprises and support them to rise to challenges and seize new opportunities.
To take our economic development to a higher and sustainable level, the Chief Executive has appointed the Economic Development Commission earlier this year to advise on strategies and policies to broaden Hong Kong's economic base. In particular, the Commission will identify growth sectors which present opportunities for Hong Kong's economic growth, and recommend policy actions to support them. We welcome your input and contribution to this very important work.
Looking ahead, our enhanced economic ties with the Mainland will provide ample opportunities for Hong Kong enterprises to flourish. The Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) offers preferential access opportunities for Hong Kong products and services. Supplement X to CEPA signed in August this year has further widened the scope of market access for our service providers. The Government will strengthen co-operation with Mainland provinces and municipalities so as to bring more advantages to our business community.
Before I close, on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, I would like to thank the Organising Committee, the co-organisers, the sponsors, media partners and supporting organisations, and all the judges for their dedication and hard work in making the 2013 Hong Kong Awards for Industries a huge success.
Ladies and gentlemen, let us join hands in the pursuit of excellence, and work together to sustain the lustre of the Pearl of the Orient. Thank you very much and have a great evening.
Ends/Thursday, October 24, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:39
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