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The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Frederick Ma, took part in the Finance Ministers' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) which opened in Hanoi, Vietnam today (September 7).
The themes of this year's meeting are "Promoting Public Finance Efficiency and Sustainability: Towards Stable and Efficient Revenue Sources" and "Financial Sector Reform to Attract Capital Flows".
At the Ministerial Retreat this morning, the finance ministers exchanged views on the maintenance of fiscal stability by addressing erosion of the tax base in the changing fiscal environment.
They also had a discussion with and sought the views of the APEC Business Advisory Council, which comprises representatives of the business sector of the APEC member economies, on a range of issues including market liberalisation, reforms to capital markets and promoting market stability.
Today's programme also included a plenary session during which the finance ministers focused on the global and regional macroeconomic and financial challenges.
Ends/Thursday, September 7, 2006
Issued at HKT 18:00
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