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I hesitate to say too much before this audience about the reasons for Hong Kong's success. You all know the environment well enough yourselves. Let me then just say that we owe much to the excellent leadership provided in the past difficult decade by our Governor who, sadly, will be leaving
us in about a year, and by other senior officials who all well understand the importance of both the political and the economic factors which provide Hong Kong with its great opportunities and with its restraints. The open market economy has served us well and we probably have gained more admirers than critics over the years. On the other hand, we must not rest on our laurels but need to keep the momentum going both in business and in government to insure that social stability is maintained and that we remain fully responsive to the demands imposed on our facilities by the rapid. population growth, the increased trade, the greater sophistication of the next generation and also by the fact that Hong Kong is so frequently caught in the crossfire of other people's battles.
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While success feeds on itself it also attracts attention. You no doubt all know about the problems caused by the MFA (Multi-fibre agreement) and you may have heard how Unctad, a United Nations agency based in Geneva, is promoting a "New International Economic Order". Well, two of their recent proposals on cargo sharing in the bulk trades and on the phasing out of the so-called open registries, (sometimes also known as
"Flags of Convenience") particularly affect Hong Kong shipowners and also have become one of my pet concerns as Chairman of INTER TANKO, the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners. Coming from Hong Kong, having been brought up in a free enterprise system and being engaged in an international business, it is particularly difficult for me to understand the logic which seems to believe that the best way to utilise scarce resources is by the elimination of competition and the establishment of barriers to entry and to trade in an industry.
Protectionist measures are an admission of failure at the best of times, but when they are applied to an industry which has proven its efficiency, economy, and resilience many times over and which is one of the few left exhibiting a high degree of competitive behaviour, one must really ask whether political slogans have completely clouded economic reality. The phasing out of open registries betrays a parallel desire to close outlets which through their operation have demonstrably produced lower transportation costs for world trade and provided job opportunities for many seafarers especially from developing countries. The open registries
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