Chief Secretary addresses Boston business community
Hong Kong's economic fundamentals remain very strong, with 35 years of sustained economic growth, the Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, told the business community in Boston, Massachusetts, today (May 31, Massachusetts time).
"In the past decade we've averaged a growth of 6.5 per cent in real terms in our GDP and we forecast a five per cent real growth for the foreseeable future.
"We're crucially aware of the need to keep Hong Kong competitive and to keep the cost of doing business in Hong Kong down," Mrs Chan said.
Addressing a luncheon meeting of bankers and business executives on the first day of her visit to Boston, the third city in her US tour, the Chief Secretary explained that, in addition to the welcome levelling off in property prices, the Government was also looking into other aspects of helping Hong Kong stay competitive.
"Currently, we are glad to know that the World Heritage Foundation rates Hong Kong the freest economy, and in terms of the world competitive table we are the third most competitive economy in the world. We fully intend to maintain that position and, hopefully, improve on it," Mrs Chan said.
Turning to the future, the Chief Secretary said one cloud on the economic horizon was the question of the most favoured nation status (MFN) extension to China.
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"We fully agree with President Clinton that the best way to address a host of issues of concern ranging from arms proliferation to human rights is to have a constructive engagement with China and to be able to continue to assist in the economic growth of China," she said.
Mrs Chan went on to explain the heavy blow that would be dealt to Hong Kong if MFN were not settled.
The Chief Secretary began her day with a briefing to the business community at a meeting hosted by the office of the Mayor of Boston, Mr Thomas Menino.
it was followed by a call on Governor William Weld of the State of Massachusetts at the State Capital.
In the afternoon, Mrs Chan briefed the faculty at Tufts University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She ended the day with a dinner with members of the academic community of Boston and Cambridge.
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