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Re-kindling the 'can-do spirit'

In his first public speech since taking up the post of Financial Secretary, Antony Leung told the audience at a Chamber luncheon that he believes Hong Kong is on the cusp of another exciting new era in its remarkable success story

"Hong Kong must re-kindle the can-do spirit to meet the opportunities and challenges ahead," HKSAR Financial Secretary Antony Leung said. "We have done this throughout our history. There is no reason why we can't continue doing it now."

Speaking at the Chamber's June 6 luncheon, Mr Leung told the audience that he believes Hong Kong is about to embark on a new chapter of its remarkable success story.

"I base this belief on the role we can play as a sophisticated knowledge-based economy and the unparalleled scope for developing trade, investment and jobs in the opening up of the Mainland economy," he said.

"If you look at our neighbouring cities, regions, and also comparing ourselves with the OECD countries, they have a participation rate of well over 80 per cent. Even Shanghai, today, is 68 per cent. So if our future competitive edge is on knowledge and knowledge workers, with a participation rate of only 30 per cent in the past, it clearly does not prepare us well for going forward," Mr Leung said.

"That is why the Chief Executive has assigned so much importance to education reform, declaring an increase, actually a doubling, of the participation rate in higher education for the next 10 years," he continued. "That, really, is our biggest challenge, meaning, how do we provide jobs to all of our people in Hong Kong when we are changing into a knowledge economy, when the competitive advantage is really knowledge."

Hong Kong entrepreneurs are already the largest investors in every Mainland province. According to one recent report, at the end of 1999 there were over 184,000 Hong Kong-funded projects throughout the country. And China's own statistics puts the cumulative value of Hong Kong's realised direct investment in the Mainland at US$162 billion in June last year, Mr Leung said.

"This involvement should give our enterprises a head start when China finally becomes a member of the World Trade Organisation. Our investors, particularly in manufacturing, have been a driving force in China's externally-oriented economy. This role should be maintained and even strengthened in the post-WTO era," he said.

At the same time, the Mainland's trade is expected to double within five years after it joins the WTO. This opens the opportunity for Hong Kong companies and their partners to sell their products to the world and the huge Mainland domestic market.

Asias world city

Mr Leung said he hopes that in the next five to seven years' time, Hong Kong would have regained its confidence and have become a truly world city that serves both the Mainland and East Asia.

"Besides improving the economy - besides really helping the entire economy restructure into a high value-added knowledge economy that we have been talking about for so long - I think the entire community has to work together to see how we can inculcate in our people three senses: a sense of belonging, a sense of direction, and a sense of achievement," he said.