Mr Ko, Professor Cheng, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning everyone! I am very happy to see such a distinguished gathering of officials, businessmen and academics here today. You represent the backbone of the services sector in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Together, we all make things happen in our respective spheres of life. What then could make better sense than for us to join forces to brainstorm ideas on the future development of our economy. I have high hopes for this forum.

The economic transformation of Hong Kong in the past two decades is a subject much talked about. An economy which has changed from making things, to making things happen. I need not repeat what we all know very well. The Symposium on Services Promotion nearly two years ago was a very good stock-taking exercise. Our economy is now firmly rooted in services. Services are where our strengths are.

What the future really holds for us no one knows for certain. But I have a conviction about one thing. We must build on our strengths in order to sustain our economic growth. Services will continue to provide our competitive edge in the days to come. This contributes to my confidence that Hong Kong will be the first among others in rising up from the financial turmoil troubling Asia.

This community shares a common vision. A vision that Hong Kong will preserve and enhance its position as premier services centre in the region through the next century. But we cannot just sit tight and wish for this to happen; such a course would be naked complacency. We must take action to make it a reality. We must map out the road ahead and then move purposefully forward.

This is the reason that we are all here together today. To think strategically about these questions. How should we best take advantage of the reform of the state owned enterprises in the Mainland of China? How can we make the most of global trade and investment liberalisation? What are the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead as we enter the Information Age? How should we prepare ourselves for the next phase of the services era? What should we do to increase our services productivity in order to enhance our competitiveness? In short, how can we get the best out of Hong Kong's advantages to stay on top of the services league? There may not be ready answers to these questions but I look to you for views so that we can make a start in identifying the way forward. Please be frank. Identify the obstacles and problems so that we can together tackle them, and eventually overcome them. The ideas we come up with today will help to frame our agenda for tomorrow and beyond.

We are the beneficiaries of the economic success which our forefathers have built up. Let us now chart our course to the future, to carry on that success story. It is a service that we can and must perform for those who will follow us.

Last but not least, I must congratulate the Hong Kong Coalition of Service Industries for taking the initiative in organising this forum. The government is very pleased to come in as a co-organiser. This is the kind of public-private partnership which really makes things happen in Hong Kong.

I wish you all a very beneficial discussion in the morning and look forward to joining you again in the evening for a round-up session and dinner.

Thank you.