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Symposium and gala dinner on services sector forthcoming
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A symposium jointly organised by the Government and the business community will be held on March 12 to provide an opportunity for public discussion and exchange of views on the development of Hong Kong's services sector and the facilitating role of the Government.
Entitled "Hong Kong into the 21st Century: The Servicing Economy", the symposium will be opened by the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten.
The Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, will deliver a keynote speech.
The symposium, to be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, will be attended by over 600 participants from the Government, business community and the academia.
It will start off with a plenary session to be chaired by the Chairman of Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Dr Victor Fung.
Panel speakers include the Director of Hong Kong Centre for Economic Research, the University of Hong Kong, Prof Richard Wong; the Executive Director of Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd, Mr Vincent Cheng; the Chairman of Federation of Hong Kong Industries, Mr Henry Tang, and the Chairman of Hong Kong Coalition of Service Industries, Mr Brian Stevenson.
Five breakaway sessions will follow, covering issues on financial services such as capital market, insurance and retirement funds, as well as issues facing a number of services sector, such as trading sectors, information technology, and quality in service delivery.
Speakers in these breakaway sessions will be leaders from trade and industrial organisations, as well as local and overseas experts and practitioners in the services.
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Discussions on the future direction of Hong Kong's services economy will culminate in a gala dinner in the evening to be attended by the Financial Secretary and the business community.
Former US Secretary of State and currently Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Mr George Shultz, has been invited to speak at the dinner gathering.
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