Distinguished speaker Kwok Kwok-chuen
optimistic about Hong Kong's economic outlook

The last issue of the Newsletter reported that the second seminar in the Distinguished Speaker Series was held on 17 November 2005, with Government Economist Mr Kwok Kwok-chuen as the guest speaker. His speech, "The Economic Transformation of Hong Kong: Problem? Challenge? or Opportunity?", focused on the closer economic cooperation between Hong Kong and the Mainland and how it enhances our overall competitiveness.

Serving as the Government's economic advisor, Mr Kwok was able to offer deep insights into Hong Kong's economy and its future development. His major responsibilities in the Government include the analysis not only of the Hong Kong economy, but also the economic implications of various government policies and programmes. He also helps the Financial Secretary in his business facilitation initiatives by reviewing the regulatory regimes in various sectors.

During the seminar, Mr Kwok analysed the transformation of the economy of Hong Kong, the relationship between economic development and the real estate market, as well as the economic integration between Hong Kong and the Mainland from a variety of perspectives. In his view, the reviving economy and the much improved job market in the past two years reflect the resilience of Hong Kong's economy and labour market. Instead of looking at the negative effects of economic restructuring on employment, Mr Kwok takes a macroeconomic perspective, saying that it is indispensable to development and is the best way to create employment. Hong Kong's long-term competitive edge, in fact, lies in the economy's success in transformation.

A widespread view is that the loss in market share in the throughput of our container ports is an indicator of Hong Kong's lack of competitiveness. Mr Kwok said that the issue should be viewed from a broader perspective, taking the overall regional development of southern China into account. Instead, the development of container terminals in the region has raised the global competitiveness of the entire Pearl River Delta. This in turn has advanced the development of various sectors in Hong Kong, such as trade, supply chain management and electronic commerce, thereby further strengthening Hong Kong's position as a business and financial centre.

Mr Kwok added that these developments were good examples of Hong Kong's success in its economic transformation. He pointed out that Hong Kong could both leverage on the Mainland and reach out to the world, offering unique advantages such as its modern infrastructure, the rule of law, mature market mechanisms, an international financial market and global networks, as well as a service-oriented economy. Hong Kong is certainly not uncompetitive as some sceptics have said.

Mr Kwok concluded his speech by saying that closer economic co-operation between Hong Kong and the Mainland will increase our overall competitiveness and that the growth of one does not necessarily result in the decline of the other. He also mentioned that over the long run the prosperity of a city depends on the constant renewal of its strengths. Since innovation and the exchange of ideas are key to this process, Hong Kong should put more emphasis on creativity and strive to attract and nurture new talent.

Mr Kwok Kwok-chuen analyses the problems, challenges and opportunities that have accompanied Hong Kong's economic transformation.

Chairman Mr Steven Poon presents a souvenir to Mr Kwok Kwok-chuen.