Hong Kong has been crowned as the world's most competitive economy for the second consecutive year, according to the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Yearbook 2017.
      
     The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, said today (June 1), "I am delighted to see Hong Kong, after returning to the top position last year, has been ranked as the world's most competitive economy in 2017 again. I welcome the IMD's high regard of Hong Kong, which is a clear recognition of our steadfast fiscal discipline, as well as the incessant effort we put into building a favourable business environment and a robust financial system.
        
     "In light of the fierce competition in the global economic arena, we must strive to uphold our prevailing competitive edge, including the open and free market principle, the fine tradition of the rule of law, an efficient public sector and a robust institutional framework. We will at the same time endeavour to open up new markets and nurture new industries, with a view to enhancing Hong Kong's long-term competitiveness."
      
     According to the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2017 released yesterday (May 31), Hong Kong stood out and was again ranked first among the 63 economies assessed, followed by Switzerland, Singapore and the US.
      
     The report assessed each economy on four competitiveness factors: "Economic performance", "Government efficiency", "Business efficiency" and "Infrastructure", each consisting of five sub-factors. Among the four competitiveness factors, Hong Kong's rankings in "Government efficiency" and "Business efficiency" both stayed at the top position globally. The ranking in "Infrastructure" also showed an improvement, climbing slightly up from 21st to 20th. On the other hand, the ranking in "Economic performance" fell from fifth to 11th, generally reflecting Hong Kong’s moderated overall economic growth in 2016 relative to that of 2015 amid external unsteadiness.

Ends/Thursday, June 1, 2017
Issued at HKT 7:00

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