Competitiveness Report 2005-2006
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In response to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report 2005-2006, a Government spokesman said today (September 28), ：The Government is firmly committed to preserving and lifting further Hong Kong's competitiveness. We will study the report in detail to see whether there is room for improvement.
：We note the improvements in Hong Kong's rankings for the ：Macroeconomic Environment Index； and ：Technology Index； and the marked decline in the ：Public Institutions Index； which lead to a visible fall in Hong Kong・s global competitiveness ranking from 21st to 28th. We are disappointed by this.
：We are sceptical of the distinct deterioration in Hong Kong's ranking in the ：Public Institutions Index；. The World Economic Forum・s accusation of weakening in Hong Kong's judicial independence, property rights protection, and a rise in favouritism in government decisions and corruption is ungrounded.
：Our firm commitment to rule of law, level-playing field, and efforts and achievements in respect of anti-corruption are internationally recognised. This is also inconsistent with the assessment of Hong Kong by other international organisations. The International Institute for Management Development ranked Hong Kong as the second most competitive economy in the world. The Heritage Foundation ranked Hong Kong as the world・s freest economy for the 11th consecutive year in its 2005 Index of Economic Freedom. The CATO/Fraser Institute also continued to rank Hong Kong as the world・s freest economy this year.
：Freedoms, human rights, the rule of law and an independent judiciary are fully protected in Hong Kong. The Reporters Without Borders rated Hong Kong as having the freest press in Asia. A survey conducted by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy rates Hong Kong・s judicial system as the best in Asia.
On intellectual property rights (IPR), the Government spokesman said Hong Kong was committed to IPR protection, ：This commitment is underpinned by our respect for private economic rights and our recognition of the importance of IPR protection regime to our economic growth.
：We have an effective legal framework for the protection of IPRs, which fully complies with all our obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This is backed up by our vigorous law enforcement actions against piracy and counterfeit activities at different levels, including imports and exports, manufacture, distribution and retail. We have also put in place an on-going and substantial public education programme to promote the public・s respect for IPRs. Indeed, the results of our efforts on IPR protection are well recognised in the region and internationally.
The spokesman added that Hong Kong had been consistently rated the word's freest economy, and amongst the most competitive economies in the world. The free flow of information, a high degree of transparency, and a trusted legal system underpinned by an independent judiciary all combine to prevent institutionalised collusion between business and Government.
：We firmly believe in the ：big market, small government； principle and continuously work to provide an open, fair and corruption-free business environment that allows market forces to work efficiently.；
The spokesman pointed out that Hong Kong's corruption situation is well under control. Internationally, in Berlin-based Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index 2004, Hong Kong was ranked the 16th least corrupt place among 146 places surveyed. Hong Kong continues to remain the second least corrupt place in Asia after Singapore. Regionally, Hong Kong continued to be ranked as the third least corrupt place (after Singapore and Japan) among 12 Asian regions in Political and Economic Risk Consultancy's 2005 survey.
On the statistical side, the total number of corruption reports has been on the decrease since 2002. In 2004, corruption complaints dropped by 13 % as compared to 2003. In the first eight months of this year, the total number of graft complaints declined further by 6% over the same period last year, with those in the government sector, public bodies and private sector falling by 13%, 5% and 1% respectively.
In recent years, the ICAC has made tremendous efforts in partnership with the public sector and business community in promoting ethical practices and strengthening system controls to minimise corruption opportunities.
The ICAC will closely monitor the corruption situation and continue to rigorously tackle graft through effective law enforcement and incessant preventive efforts.
Ends/Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Issued at HKT 22:12
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