*************************************************
The following press release was jointly issued by the World Economic Forum and Invest Hong Kong: (English only)
The World Economic Forum at a press conference today (October 26) announced the opening of its 10th East Asia Economic Summit in Hong Kong.
The Summit will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on October 29 - 31. The co-chairmen of the Summit are Ronnie C. Chan, Chairman, Hang Lung Development Company, Hong Kong SAR; Nobuyuki Idei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sony Corporation, Japan; and Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ayala Corporation, Philippines. The Rapporteur of the Summit is Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia, Canada. Over 800 people from business, the media and government will participate in the Summit.
The attacks of September 11 have changed the world. What are the impacts on Asia, economically and geopolitically? Under the theme of Responses to the Recession: Regaining Stability and Growth in Asia, the Summit will address the many issues that have challenged the region recently: what are the deep security concerns in the region? How can Asia's governments jointly address the global economic crisis? A combination of high-level political dialogues, sessions to foster joint policy initiatives, and workshops for business people to formulate action plans for sustainable growth in the future will enable the Summit to achieve progress on a number of fronts.
According to Frank-Jurgen Richter, Director for Asia at the World Economic Forum, "We are faced with a severe downturn that has reached every corner of the globe, including Asia. We hope that our discussion will help to create consensus on ways to fight the global economic downturn and to restore stability."
The host partner for East Asia Economic Summit 2001 is Invest Hong Kong. "Hong Kong has always been a city of business and as Asia's World City it is proud to host the 10th East Asia Economic Summit, which offers us a valuable opportunity to engage with some of the world's top business minds," said the Director-General of Invest Hong Kong, Mike Rowse.
"The Summit is a timely opportunity to take a long, hard look at the pressures Asian economies are facing. Like Hong Kong, most are feeling the effects of the economic slowdown. But Hong Kong has previously emerged from hard times fitter and stronger, and I have no doubt it will do the same again. China is one of the few countries in the world to be recording growth figures at the moment and its accession to the World Trade Organisation will be good news for Hong Kong," Rowse said.
"I am delighted that so many distinguished figures have decided to attend the Summit, particularly at this difficult time," he added.
Webcast - The following plenary sessions will be webcast live from East Asia Economic Summit 2001 at Hong Kong local time, unless otherwise indicated. To view the sessions, please visit www.weforum.org, or the website of the host partner Invest Hong Kong and the Information Services Department:
1) Monday October 29, 15.30-16.45, Restarting Growth: What Are the Policy Priorities?
- Jose Isidro N. Camacho, Secretary of Finance of the Philippines
- Ronnie C. Chan, Chairman Hang Lung Development Company, Hong Kong SAR
- Jin Nyum, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy of the Republic of Korea
- Antony Leung, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR
2) Monday October 29, 20.00-20.30, Opening Address
- Tung Chee Hwa, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
3) Tuesday October 30, 08.45-10.00, China: Enhancing the Capacity for Growth
- Shi Guangsheng, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of the People's Republic of China
4) Tuesday October 30 (delayed webcast) 10.30, Educating for Innovation
- Yuichiro Anzai, President, Keio University, Japan
- Choue Chungwon, President, Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea
- Paul C.W. Chu, President, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR
- Nobuyuki Idei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sony Corporation, Japan
- Fanny Law, Secretary for Education and Manpower of the Hong Kong SAR
- Arthur K.C. Li, Vice-Chancellor, T he Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Shih Choon-Fong, President, National University of Singapore
- Tatchai Sumitra, President and Associate Professor, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
5) Wednesday October 31, 15.10-16.20, A New Trade Round: What Is at Stake for Asia?
- Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia, Canada
- CHAU Tak Hay, Secretary for Commerce and Industry of the Hong Kong SAR
- Supachai Panitchpakdi, Director-General Designate, World Trade Organisation (WTO), Geneva
- Rini Soewandi, Minister of Industry and Trade of Indonesia
For more information on East Asia Economic Summit 2001, please visit the World Economic Forum's website at www.weforum.org.
The World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org) is the foremost global partnership of business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society committed to improving the state of the world. Incorporated since 1971 as a foundation, the World Economic Forum is independent, impartial and not-for-profit, tied to no political, partisan or national interests. The Forum acts in the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest to further economic growth and social progress.
End/Friday, October 26, 2001
NNNN
