events

New York reception hails Year of the Ox

Hong Kong Commissioner to the USA Donald Tong welcomed more than 350 guests to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York’s Spring Reception in New York City on February 4.

Hailing the Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal’s recent ranking of Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy for the 15th consecutive year, Mr. Tong noted the city has begun 2009 with an auspicious start.

“The ranking acknowledges Hong Kong’s commitment to free-market principles and devotion to our common law tradition,” said Mr. Tong. “They are also good encouragement for us to maintain a free and open system, including open markets, free trade, low taxes and a free flow of people, capital, ideas and information, in Hong Kong.”

Hong Kong Commissioner to the USA Donald Tong (fifth from left) and Director of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York Monica Chen (third from left) join New York guests in a toast for a prosperous Year of the Ox. Other guests at the February 4 toasting ceremony were (from left): Kelly Jones, Head of Investment Promotion, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York; Henry Cheng, Chief Representative of New York and London representative offices, Hong Kong Monetary Authority; Ambassador Zhang Yesui, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations; Ambassador Peng Keyu, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in New York; Mrs. Peng ; Stephen Wong, Regional Director-Americas, Hong Kong Trade Development Council; and Linda Ho, Assistant Manager — Marketing (Eastern USA) of the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Mr. Tong noted that, as an externally oriented economy, Hong Kong is not immune to the current global financial crisis and that negative economic growth and a rising unemployment rate in 2009 are distinct possibilities.

The Hong Kong government has put in place a full range of measures to deal with these challenges, Mr. Tong remarked.

“Since the Asian financial crisis a decade ago, Hong Kong has reinforced its financial markets by improving risk management of banks and creating a more transparent regulatory system.

“To ease liquidity for the business community and bolster public confidence, our government has guaranteed all bank deposits and established a mechanism to provide additional capital to banks, if requested, until at least 2010,” Mr. Tong said.

In addition, a US$12.8 billion loan guarantee program has been introduced for enterprises to help unfreeze credit and make available more resources for their operations. 

Hong Kong Commissioner to the USA Donald Tong spoke to about 350 people who attended the New York reception.

Hong Kong and mainland China are also cooperating to provide short-term liquidity support to Mainland operations of Hong Kong banks and to Hong Kong operations of Mainland banks, in case of need. 

The Hong Kong government also has increased public expenditures, most significantly on fast-tracked infrastructure projects, to create more than 60,000 jobs this year. Public bodies and the private sector also have pledged to create thousands of short-term jobs and internships, targeting fresh graduates from schools and universities.

Expressing confidence that these measures will help Hong Kong weather the storm, Mr. Tong said the government also is paving the way for further development.

“We are working with the Mainland government to further develop renminbi business in Hong Kong. Hong Kong will be one of the pilot areas for transforming renminbi into an international currency, with permission for qualified enterprises to settle their cross-border trade in yuan.”

“Recently, we entered into agreement with the Guangdong Province to step up further cooperation in four priority areas, namely financial industry, service industry, infrastructural facilities and town planning, as well as innovation and technology,” said Mr. Tong. “New infrastructure projects across the border, including large-scale bridge and high-speed rail projects, will also begin construction in the coming two years to cope with the increasing people and vehicular flow between Hong Kong and Southern China.”

To enhance Hong Kong’s attractiveness as a business and trade hub, Mr. Tong pointed out that Hong Kong has intensified global efforts to promote Hong Kong as a destination for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, and also waived the hotel accommodation tax.

Hong Kong also plans to build a 100-acre cultural hub in West Kowloon, which will feature 15 performing arts venues, outdoor performance piazza areas, a new concept museum, an exhibition center and galleries.

“We have also waived our duty on wine lately, with a view to developing Hong Kong into a regional hub for wine-related business,” added Mr. Tong.

The Commissioner noted that Hong Kong and the United States have long enjoyed closed ties. “The U.S. tops the list of countries with regional headquarters and regional offices in Hong Kong, increasing by over 100% to some 900 in the past 10 years. This is a strong vote of confidence in our role as Asia’s leading business hub and a reliable partner for U.S. businesses,” he said.

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York also hosted spring receptions in Boston (February 12), Chicago (February 18) and Atlanta (February 26) for key movers and shakers in the academic, business, and media sectors.

In Chicago, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York also hosted the screening of the Hong Kong movie “Sparrow” for a full-house audience on February 17 at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The screening kicked off a series of Hong Kong film promotional events organized by the office on the East Coast for 2009. These film events are part of a cultural exchange program with the United States to highlight the many accomplishments of Hong Kong’s film industry. Other film events in the series will be held in Atlanta, Boston and New York.

Another major film festival on Hong Kong’s new generation of film makers’ works will be held in May in Chicago in a month-long celebration of Hong Kong’s economic vitality and cultural creativity.

Celebrating the Year of the Ox at the Spring Reception in Boston are (from left): Joseph Chow; President of the Hong Kong Association of Massachusetts (HKAMA); Monica Chen, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York; Donald Tong, Hong Kong Commissioner to the USA; Stephen Wong, Regional Director-Americas, Hong Kong Trade Development Council; and Tracy P. Palandjian, Board of Director of the HKAMA.

Toasting to the Year of the Ox at the Spring Reception in Chicago  are (from left): Gene Lee, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Office of the Mayor of Chicago; Donald Tong, Hong Kong Commissioner to the USA; Ambassador Huang Ping, Consul General of The Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Chicago; Monica Chen, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York; and Stephen Wong, Regional Director-Americas, Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

Ushering in the Year of the Ox at the Spring Reception in Atlanta are (from right): Donald Tong, Hong Kong Commissioner to the USA; Monica Chen, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York; Bill Ramsey, President of the Hong Kong Association of Atlanta and Executive Director of Troutman Sanders LLP; and Eugene Hanratty, Senior Consultant of the Hong Kong Information Center in Atlanta.