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Following is the speech delivered by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, at the opening ceremony of Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this morning (November 4):
Fred (Lam), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.
It is my great pleasure to join you this morning for the opening of the third Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair.
First, I would like to congratulate the Trade Development Council on the successful promotion of this "home grown" wine Fair, opening up an entirely "new world" for wine traders and wine enthusiasts all over the world.
The demand for quality wines in this region has been growing for some time. To capitalise on this trend, we took a bold step and cut the wine duty from 80% to zero in two strokes. The rest, as they say, is history.
At the time we didn't know exactly how the industry would respond to zero wine duties, especially with the global economy heading into recession two years ago.
We should not have worried. The success of this Wine & Spirits Fair highlights the traders' enthusiasm for Hong Kong's wine initiatives.
The growth in wine-related business over the past two years has also brought synergy to many sectors including catering, tourism and warehousing as well as wine education.
We are all delighted to see the business potential that has been unlocked, or perhaps I should say, uncorked.
Our wine imports continue to grow, surging to HK$4.7 billion, or US$600 million, in the first nine months of 2010. That is more than for the whole of last year. Wine auctions in Hong Kong have also flourished.
Industry figures show that wine sales at auction more than doubled from US$27 million in 2008 to US$64 million in 2009. Last year, we overtook London to become the world's second largest wine auction centre, behind only New York.
So far this year, sales already amounted to about US$120 million, which doubled the full-year figure for 2009. And, more auctions have been planned for the coming two months.
We are set to take a bite out of the Big Apple this year, so please watch this space and I believe we will surpass them this year!
Hong Kong's strengths as the preferred trading platform for Asian markets are serving the wine industry well.
Our location, regional connectivity, world-class infrastructure and low taxes - or NO taxes for wine - are just a few of our plus factors.
According to the respected Vinexpo, wine consumption in Mainland China is expected to exceed 100 million cases annually by 2013. As a gateway to the Mainland, Hong Kong is well placed to take full advantage of this growth trend.
Trying and buying wine is also a popular activity for the millions of visitors to Hong Kong from the Mainland and around the world, not to mention domestic consumers.
The scale of the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair mirrors the strong performance of our wine-related business. The event has grown from a relatively modest scale with 240 exhibitors two years ago to close to 680 exhibitors this year. The Fair brings in wine from 30 countries and regions, representing almost all the major wine producing areas in the world. We have also noticed a much stronger presence this year from the largest wine regions including France, Italy and Spain.
This year the event has a distinctly Aussie flavour, with Australia being our partner country for the Fair.
Australia was one of the first countries to sign an Agreement on wine co-operation with Hong Kong. And in the last financial year, the value of our wine imports from Australia grew more than 30% year-on-year.
Another initiative has been for the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation to establish its regional headquarters in Hong Kong. I wish the corporation and Australian wine all the best in Hong Kong.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I have highlighted some of the ways Hong Kong can benefit the world of wine, and also enjoy some of the fruits of this dynamic industry.
It only remains for me to congratulate the Hong Kong Trade Development Council on organising this event. I also wish you all a very enjoyable Wine and Spirits Fair and a wonderful stay in Hong Kong, Asia's world city - or perhaps this week, Asia's wine city on the back of a very successful wine and spirits week we have.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Thursday, November 4, 2010
Issued at HKT 12:50
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