Speech by C,USA
at a reception hosted by
The Hong Kong Association of Atlanta
Friday, 12 September 2008

Bill, ladies and gentlemen,

I am here tonight to bid farewell to friends from Atlanta and the great state of Georgia.

2. During my two years as Hong Kong Commissioner to the USA, I have the good fortune of celebrating the Year of the Pig and the Year of the Rat with our friends at our Spring reception at the High Museum. I also have the honour of meeting with Lt. Governor Cagle and Mayor Franklin, and discussed ways to strengthen our co-operation from areas ranging from trade, to combating health challenges to educational exchanges.

3. Atlanta is a major financial and logistics hub with first-class universities and colleges which produce quality human capital, capable of competing in the present day knowledge-based globalised environment. But it is also a place where you can visit world-class museums and enjoy the diverse cultural scene. And of course, the many shops and restaurants will keep you coming back time after time.

4. All these attributes bring Hong Kong closer to Atlanta. We too have a world-class international airport and the third busiest container port in the world. 68 of the top 100 banks in the world are in Hong Kong and we ranked fourth last year in terms of equity funds raised through IPOs. We invest in our people and a quarter of our budget goes to education every year. Our universities have 140 exchange programmes with universities in the US including Emory University and Georgia tech. Three of our universities ranked among the top 100 in the world according to UK’s Times Higher Education Supplement, with my alma mater, University of Hong Kong, at no. 18. We are proud to have a workforce that is cosmopolitan, IT-savvy and multi-lingual who helps businesses from the west successfully navigate the markets in the Asia region, including Mainland China, the single largest consumer market in the world.

5. We are particularly proud to have so many great Atlanta and Georgian companies such as Coca-Cola, UPS, Newell Rubbermaid, CNN and Turner Broadcasting System represented in Hong Kong. And they would be in good company. 3,890 overseas firms have chosen Hong Kong as their regional base because, like Atlanta, we offer you not just an efficient, business friendly environment supported by world-class infrastructure, but a place where your children can play in the 23 country parks and the 40 plus beaches while attending one of our 56 international schools offering 11 different curricula; where you can taste cuisines from all over the world and buy the latest in fashion, consumer electronics and everything else at zero sales tax; but above all a place where you will feel right at home.

6. Atlanta and Hong Kong share one other special link – the privilege of being part of the great Olympics tradition as a host city. Equestrian Events has just concluded in Hong Kong last month with flying colors.

7. As I return to Hong Kong next month, I bring with me fond memories of the friendship and warm welcome that Atlanta has extended to me. And I look forward to welcoming you all to my home and experience the famous Hong Kong hospitality.

Thank you.