Tung Chee Hwa, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), said in Hong Kong Wednesday that the 2000/2001 budget is a very good one, which meets the needs of the community but at the same time ensures sustained growth in Hong Kong's economy in the coming years.

Speaking at a media briefing, Tung noted Hong Kong scored a substantial GDP growth rate of 8.7 percent in the fourth quarter

last year. "We can look forward to achieving a handsome growth of about five per cent for this year," he said.

"It is my firm view that the government has the responsibility to economy, to improve our efficiency, and to share the community's burden in promoting economic recovery," the Chief Executive said.

"To achieve this, the financial secretary has presented specific measures to enable civil service reforms to continue to progress. I am sure that these measures will be welcomed by the community," he added.

As the International Monetary Fund stated a few days ago, he said, a modest deficit for the year 2000 will help the economy to continue its recovery path.

"The financial secretary's budget for this year will help us to achieve higher economic growth," he said. "And I know as a community, by working together, Hong Kong will be able to scale new heights."