SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1994
APEC MINISTERIAL MEETING ON SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
*
* *
AND WAS
THE FIRST ASIA-PACIFIC ECOMONIC CO-OPERATION (APEC) SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SME) MINISTERIAL MEETING HELD IN OSAKA, JAPAN, CONCLUDED TODAY (SUNDAY), THE SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, MR TH CHAU, REPRESENTED HONG KONG AT THE MEETING.
AND IN
MR CHAU EXPLAINED TO MINISTERS FROM THE OTHER 16 APEC ECONOMIES THAT HONG KONG OWED MUCH OF ITS ECONOMIC SUCCESS TO THE DYNAMISM AGILITY OF SNES WHICH CONSTITUTED THE VAST MAJORITY OF HONG KONG,
COMPANIES
IN HONG KONG WAS MR CHAU STRESSED THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BEST SERVED BY ALLOWING THE MARKET TO DETERMINE WHERE RESOURCES SHOULD FLOW. HONG KONG THEREFORE DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE EITHER FOR OR SMES.
AGAINST
MINISTERIAL "TO CREATE AN ALL TYPES OF
MR CHAU MADE IT CLEAR TO ALL THE DELEGATES OF THE MEETING THAT THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT'S POLICY WAS
·ENVIRONMENT ENTERPRISE,
WHICH
IS
CONDUCIVE
TO
THE
WHETHER SMALL, MEDIUM OR LARGE.
GROWTH
OF
TAX
"THE GOVERNMENT DOES THIS THROUGH A SIMPLE, STABLE AND LOW
ADMINISTRATIVE REGIME, AS WELL AS A SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES WITH MINIMUM RED-TAPE," MR CHAN SAID.
r
"THE
SECTOR TO
GOVERNMENT ALSO WORKS CLOSELY WITH THE PRIVATE ENSURE THE PROVISION OF AN EFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BUSINESS OTHER ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES.
AND
OF
"IN AN ECONOMY AS OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL COMPETITON AS THAT
MEET THE HONG KONG, THERE ARE BOUND TO BE ENTERPRISES WHICH FAIL TO
CHANGES IN THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE, OR ARE ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY
ENVIRONMENT WHETHER IN HONG KONG OR OUTSIDE.
"IN THE WIDER
INTERESTS
OF THE
COMMUNITY,
THE
HONG KONG
GOVERNMENT BELIEVES THAT UNSUCCESSFUL FIRMS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO FAIL, SO THAT THEIR RESOURCES CAN BE EMPLOYED MORE PROFITABLY ELSEWHERE.
AS RESILIENT BOTH THE RISKS NATURAL FEATURES OF
"THIS POLICY HAS CONTRIBUTED TO A ROBUST AS WELL
·CULTURE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN HONG KONG, IN WHICH AND THE REWARDS OF ENTERPRISE ARE RECOGNISED AS BUSINESS LIFE.
"
APEC MINISTERIAL JOINT CONSISTENT INCLUDING
MR CHAU ASSOCIATED HIMSELF WITH THE STATEMENT
SMES ON
ENDORSES VARIOUS GATT/WTO WHICH INITIATIVES TO ADDRESS THE GREATEST HANDICAPS FACED BY SMES, HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT, ACCESS TO INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY SHARING, THE AVAILABILITY OF FINANCE AND
TECHNOLOGY AND MARKET ACCESS.
STUDIES
THE GLOBAL AN AD HOC
COMMISSIONING OF IN-DEPTH MINISTERS RECOMMENDED THE WHICH WILL HELP TO ENHANCE THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SMES IN ENVIRONMENT. MINISTERS ALSO ENDORSED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICY-LEVEL GROUP ON SMES WITHIN THE APEC FRAMEWORK.
JAPAN, MR DAVID THE PRINCIPAL REPRESENTATIVE OF HONG KONG IN
INDUSTRY, MISS DENISE YUE, H T LAN, AND THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF
THE APEC SME MINISTERIAL MEMBERS OF THE HONG KONG DELEGATION AT MEETING.
WERE
/A PRIVATE