With the HKSAR economy showing positive signs of recovery, the government has revised upward its original forecast of 1.5 percent for economic growth this year to 2 percent. I believe many businesses have been longing for this upturn and are wondering what Hong Kong can do to speed up the long-awaited recovery.

The Central Government has been contributing to Hong Kong's brighter outlook through strong support and approval of a number of initiatives. These include CEPA, the strengthening of Guangdong-Hong Kong economic co-operation, construction of the Hong Kong/Zhuhai/Macau Bridge, and relaxation on the "Free Travellers Scheme" for Mainland residents. All these initiatives have boosted the local economy and Hong Kong citizens' confidence.

Backed by the Mainland, Hong Kong possesses a fist-full of advantages that other places can only dream about. However, Hong Kong will only be able to reap the full benefit of this relationship when the SAR Government puts into place sound software and hardware support.

On the software side, more needs to be done to develop the content and arrangement of various policy initiatives. For example, at the time of writing, details of the CEPA agreement had to be worked out to allow the business community to explore opportunities arising from the agreement.

Hong Kong also needs to attract more professionals to work here. Since its launch two months ago, the new Admission of Mainland Professionals Scheme has already approved hundreds of applications, which is obviously more effective than the old scheme. As such, it should be more widely used so that local businesses can hire appropriate professionals from outside Hong Kong.

Closer integration between Guangdong and Hong Kong means that the rising flow of people and goods across the border needs to be dealt with more efficiently. As such, the 24-hour border crossing and co-location customs clearance system must be implemented as soon as possible. Although these issues have been talked about for years, especially the latter, the government says it will not be possible to implement until the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor comes into operation in 2005, after which a timetable for other checkpoints, such as Huanggang, will be set. I think progress on this project is too slow and that the government must speed things up to cope with the rising demand.

I also suggest that the HKSAR Government continue its discussions with the Central Government on setting up possible channels to draw capital from the Mainland, including the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) and business migration schemes. Regarding QDII, China's Ministry of Commerce and related departments are reportedly considering gradual relaxation of restrictions on the inflow of capital into international markets. I hope this can become a reality soon to allow more capital to enter Hong Kong's financial markets.

For business migration, the current scheme does not cover Mainlanders, even though Mainland investors are more eager to establish businesses and settle in Hong Kong than overseas investors. If Mainlanders were permitted to apply to live in Hong Kong, this would attract more interest and the capital inflow would strengthen Hong Kong's stock and property markets. I understand that the issue touches on the control of domestic capital outflow, but I believe the SAR Government should be able to arrive at a suitable solution through negotiations with the Central Government.

Finally, I am delighted to hear that Shanghai and Hong Kong are working to expand co-operation with each other. Despite competition existing to some extent, these two prosperous cities will be able to benefit from working together to maximise their complementary competitive advantages. I hope that the SAR and Shanghai governments will unveil the co-operation plan soon to enable business to prepare for these new business opportunities.