For the Record... It is precisely because Hong Kong is able to strike a balance between economics and politics, to demonstrate that economic prudence and success walk hand-in-hand with political freedom and tolerance, that Hong Kong is one of the great Asian success stories. - (The late) British Foreign Office Minister with Responsibility for Hong Kong Derek Fatchett, South China Morning Post, April 13, 1999 Hong Kong is likely to emerge from the [financial] crisis with its reputation intact as Asia's strongest banking system. - A Political and Economic Risk Consultancy survey of expatriate businessmen which rated Hong Kong's banking system the best in Asia, March 1999 Hong Kong is the world's freest economy. -1999 Index of Economic Freedom, Heritage Foundation, March 1999. It was the fifth consecutive year Hong Kong had taken top spot In China and Hong Kong SAR, the successful maintenance of exchange rate regimes has helped restore stability in Asian financial markets. - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Michel Camdessus, Asia-Europe Finance Ministers Meeting, Frankfurt, January 16, 1999 In its own scrutiny of developments in the SAR since the handover, the European Commission does not detect an overall policy shift towards greater restrictiveness. ... The financial crisis has deprived the SAR, at a delicate stage in its development, of the high growth and business confidence that has characterised Hong Kong's economy in the past. Its strict adherence to transparency, prudent budgetary control and a stable currency is therefore all the more admirable in the face of such adversity. ... Hong Kong remains one of the most open economies in the world. Its well-tested economic principles, together with close adherence to the political and social freedoms enshrined in the Basic Law, will be the territory's best guarantor of future stability. - European Commission's First Annual Report on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, January 1999 Hong Kong is still regarded by US companies as a good place for long-term investment and the premier choice for a regional head office, despite the cost and economic crisis ... there is an excellent trading and services infrastructure ... and it is easy to find well-qualified graduates in the territory. Shipping facilities in Hong Kong are second to none, and nowhere else in the region can own such a deep pool of competent professionals as Hong Kong does. - American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong chairman Jason Felton, January 14, 1999 Hong Kong has built an unrivalled reputation for fiscal prudence ... high fiscal reserves have played an important role in sustaining confidence in financial markets; and they have also significantly increased the authority's room to manoeuvre in the present economic situation. - International Monetary Fund report, October 1998 Chek Lap Kok Airport is one of the 10 most remarkable construction achievements of the 20th Century. - Conexpo-CON/AGG construction achievement awards of the century, March 1999. Hong Kong's airport was the only 'Asian achiever' in a list that included the Panama Canal, the Channel Tunnel and Egypt's Aswan High Dam Hong Kong is the best Asian seaport. - 'Cargonews Asia', 13th Asian Freight Industry Awards Last updated: June 1999