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Hong Kong Sets to Emerge From Global Gloom: Official
Hong Kong is certain to emerge from global gloom and a certain foreign magazine's sounding death knell for the future of Hong Kong stands on no firm grounds, a Hong Kong official said Saturday in London.
At an international conference organized by East Asia Institute at Cambridge, Andrew Leung, director general of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, said that in 1995, Fortune Magazine also proclaimed the death of Hong Kong as China resumed its sovereignty and during the time when the territory was hard hit by the Asian financial crisis.
"The ensuing years proved otherwise," Leung said. "The resourcefulness and determination of Hong Kong people has turned adversity into advantage and risks into opportunities," he said.
Acknowledged the unsettled global economic outlook, Leung noted that Hong Kong's links with the vast Chinese mainland market would tip the balance in its favor.
China's economy is still growing by between seven and eight percent and the mainland's continuing robust economic performance may well provide the kind of buffer for Hong Kong that is not available to some others in the region, he said.
Leung pointed out the immense business opportunities for Hong Kong once China joins the World Trade Organization (WTO).
"Our strengths in financial services and professional skills - management, accounting, legal services, consulting, marketing and international sourcing, couple with our excellent air, sea and telecommunications infrastructure, underline our role as a leading regional and international hub as the world goes to China, the mother of all emerging markets in the 21st century," he added.
To fare better than our competitors, Hong Kong has put in place a series of ambitious yet vitally important reforms and changes, Leung said.
"Our vision is to become Asia's world city and to maintain our role as a premier gateway to China and this is how we are positioning ourselves into the 21st century," he said.
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