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More than 350 guests, consuls general, senior government officials and business leaders celebrated the Year of the Ox today (February 9, San Francisco time) at the Spring Reception hosted by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
Addressing the guests, the Hong Kong Commissioner, USA, Mr Donald Tong said that Hong Kong had an auspicious start to the year as it was ranked the world¡¦s freest economy for the 15th consecutive year by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. The ranking acknowledges Hong Kong¡¦s commitment to free market principles and devotion to the common law tradition.
¡§The Hong Kong economy performed reasonably well in 2008. Economic growth was around 3 to 3.5%. Visitor arrivals increased by 4.7% to 29.5 million while total exports grew by 5.5% in 2008. For the first half of 2008, about $34 billion in foreign direct investment came into Hong Kong ¡V 25% more than the same period in 2007. This underscores Hong Kong¡¦s appeal to a growing number of international companies as a platform to reach mainland China and the Asia Pacific region,¡¨ Mr Tong said.
¡§As an externally oriented economy, Hong Kong is not immune to the current global financial crisis. Economic growth, export and re-export did falter quickly in the last few months with the unemployment rate climbing to 4.1%.¡¨
To tackle rising unemployment, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been increasing public expenditure, particularly in infrastructure projects, to create more than 60,000 jobs this year.
¡§To ease liquidity for the business community and bolster public confidence, our Government has guaranteed all bank deposits without ceiling and established a mechanism to provide additional capital to banks, if requested, until at least 2010,¡¨ Mr. Tong said.
¡§We also introduced a $12.8 billion loan guarantee scheme to help unfreeze credit for the business community, particularly the small and medium enterprises.¡¨
¡§To pave the way for Hong Kong¡¦s further development, we have taken some other new initiatives. We have intensified our global effort in promoting Hong Kong as a destination for ¡¥Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions¡¦.¡¨
¡§We have also waived the 40% duty on wine with a view to developing Hong Kong into a regional hub for wine-related business,¡¨ Mr Tong said.
Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco Ms Doris Cheung also noted that Hong Kong remained an ideal place for business and investment in Asia and the best gateway to China.
Ties between the US and Hong Kong remain strong. ¡§California has a very close bond with Hong Kong on the economic, social and cultural fronts. California has been the largest exporter to Hong Kong among the states for many years. Last year, Californian exports to Hong Kong amounted to about US$5 billion, or one quarter of the total state exports. Many Californian companies have established offices in Hong Kong,¡¨ she said.
¡§On the education front, many Hong Kong students are studying in California. There are also 32 student exchange programmes covering 16 colleges in California and six Hong Kong universities.¡¨
¡§Like California, Hong Kong has a diverse vibrant culture and there are many cultural exchanges between the two places. The critically acclaimed Hong Kong Ballet, City Contemporary Dance Company and Hong Kong Children¡¦s Symphony Orchestra are among the many cultural groups from Hong Kong that had performed for audiences in the Bay Area; whereas the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and cultural dance groups from California were well received in Hong Kong.¡¨
¡§The close linkage between California and Hong Kong can also be reflected in the large number of official visits and trade delegations. We are pleased that many senior officials from California, including the Governor, Lt Governor and Mayors of San Francisco and Los Angeles, business leaders and prominent academics have visited Hong Kong to see firsthand our developments. On the other hand, our Chief Executive, Financial Secretary, Secretary for Justice, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Secretary for the Environment have all paid visits to California in recent years,¡¨ she said.
The reception marked the beginning of a series of activities hosted by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco in 2009 to further foster the friendship and partnership between the US and Hong Kong.
Ends/Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:45
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