"When we met in this gathering a year ago, there was a gloom in that we were still battling to emerge from recession," Chamber Chairman C C Tung (left) said at the Annual General Meeting held on April 18.

"We are now in positive growth territory -- and the first quarter of this year will show excellent growth on what was a weak quarter last year."

External trade, which proved to be the engine of growth through the second half of last year, shows no sign of slowing so far this year.

Total exports in the opening two months of the year were up almost 17 per cent on 1999 and imports rose almost 11 per cent.

Retail sales in January were up 12 per cent in value terms and 20 per cent in volume ? a reflection of continuing price discounts and deflation.

As a result of the faster than expected economic recovery the Chamber upgraded its forecast growth rate for Hong Kong to 5.3 per cent for the calendar year 2000.

"This is above the government's 5 per cent forecast, but below that of many private sector analysts. We expect inflation to average around a negative 1 per cent for the year," he said.

Although money supply growth remains low, private sector investment weak and a the property market flat, this is positive for the costs of doing business, as is the wage situation, with wages growth under control so far this year, he said.

"Provided there are no major setbacks on the world economic stage, we look to be on the threshold of a period of exciting and more rapid growth," Mr Tung said.

The fortunes of the Chamber also have recovered along with the economy and confidence to the local business community.

To expand its role in the development of e-commerce in Hong Kong, the Chamber has established a special e-Committee, and is actively seeking new members from amongst the large numbers of e-commerce ?ew economy' companies now establishing themselves in the SAR, he said.

Also, the Chamber's Web site (www.chamber.org.hk) was completely revamped in the past few months. It now features a more user-friendly interface and its contents are more relevant and timely.

In addition to establishing the e-Committee, some minor adjustments to the existing committee structure have been made. Committees formerly responsible for transport and shipping have been merged into a single committee, while the Infrastructure Committee is to become part of a larger Property and Infrastructure Committee. Lastly, the former CSI Statistics Committee has merged with the Economic Policy Committee.

Mr Tung also said the Chamber's detailed business perspective report on China's imminent entry to the WTO has been well received by businesses and government both home and abroad.

"The Chief Executive has personally told the Chamber the value of this report and so have officials in China," he said.

The Chamber also entered into new areas during the year. On February 1, 2000, by entering the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) market with "Chamber CMG Choice," a product jointly developed with the Chamber's MPF alliance partner.

And for the first time in its history, the Chamber is now accepting individual associate members on a non-voting basis, but with access to some of the Chamber services.