Remarks by the Hong Kong Commissioner
to the US Miss Margaret Fong JP
at the Chinese New Year Reception hosted
by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York
The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel Tuesday, 27 February 2007

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Kung Hey Fat Choy! Welcome to the Chinese New Year reception to celebrate the Year of the Pig. Today is the tenth day of the New Year. By tradition, this is the day when friends are invited to New Year banquets. My colleagues and I are pleased to celebrate this festive season among good friends of Hong Kong in New York.

2. The New Year began with welcome news for Hong Kong. Just last month, the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal ranked Hong Kong the freest economy for the 13th consecutive year. The auspicious start bodes well as we look forward to the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on 1 July this year.

3. Since 1997, from the Asian financial crisis to the onslaught of SARS in 2003, Hong Kong people have withstood many challenges. And yet, the Hong Kong community has emerged more resilient and united through each ordeal.

4. Our economy sustained its broad-based upturn, driving us towards a 6.5% GDP growth for 2006 as a whole. 2006 also saw phenomenal growth as Hong Kong’s stock exchange raised over US$42 billion in IPOs, placing the exchange second behind London. At the end of the year, total market capitalisation of Hong Kong’s stock market was over US$1.7 trillion making us the second largest stock market in Asia.

5. Since taking up the office as the Hong Kong Commissioner to the US, I regularly travel across the country to share the Hong Kong story. These visits allow me to enhance my understanding of the US business community’s diverse needs, extol Hong Kong’s strengths as an investment destination, and illustrate our cooperative role as a guarantor of international security. It is an enormous responsibility, and one that I happily take up to reinforce the common and close ties between Hong Kong and the US.

6. New York has always been my favourite city. That is why it was the first place I visited in my capacity as the Hong Kong Commissioner and the place I travelled to most in the past seven months. It is always a great pleasure to be in New York among supportive friends of Hong Kong. I look forward to coming back many more times during my tenure so that I can get to know the city and our friends here better. I wish you all a safe and prosperous New Year.

Thank you.