 |
Interview: Chinese Mainland's WTO Entry Benefits HK Economy
Chinese mainland's imminent entry into the World Trade Organization will benefit the Hong Kong economy, predicted incoming WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi Monday in Hong Kong.
Supachai, guest speaker to the British Chamber of Commerce here, said,"Hong Kong has all the ready-made infrastructure in terms of advisory capacity, consultative services, legal services and advisory services."
"Hong Kong stands to gain in terms of providing services for the Chinese mainland's economy," he said.
Supachai predicted that with the mainland moving into a higher gear of economic expansion, "there would be great demand for financial activities for new projects that only Hong Kong can meet. "
There will be opening up of the financial and insurance sectors in the mainland that would need new management concepts that Hong Kong can provide, he said, adding that with growing volume of trade between the mainland and the rest of the world, Hong Kong also stands to gain.
"In terms of development of real estates, there will be new demand for real estates in the mainland, again participation by Hong Kong companies can make inroad into the economy," he said.
However, Supachai warned that Hong Kong might have to compete more in terms of the emergence of new financial centers in the mainland. "I foresee that Shanghai should emerge as one of the strongly competitive financial centers competing with Hong Kong in the near future," he said.
In This Section
|