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Following is a speech by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Frederick Ma, at the Joint Opening Ceremony of the Electronics Fair 2008 (Spring Edition) and the International ICT Expo 2008 today (April 14):
Fred (Lam), Roy (Chung), Paul (Kan), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. It is my great pleasure to be here to officiate at the Joint Opening Ceremony of the Electronics Fair (Spring Edition) and the International ICT Expo 2008. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all exhibitors, buyers and visitors to these two great fairs. With your support over the past years, the two fairs have successfully strengthened Hong Kong﷿s role as 䩕the world marketplace蒅 for the electronics and ICT (information and communications technology) industries.
Electronics and ICT industries in Hong Kong
Hong Kong﷿s economic performance was excellent last year with a GDP growth of 6.3%. The importance and contribution of our electronics and ICT industries towards this should not be underestimated. Last year the electronics industry accounted for nearly half of Hong Kong﷿s total exports. The ICT industry is also one of the vibrant industries in Hong Kong, with over 9,000 companies employing about 75,000 talented practitioners, contributing approximately HK$50 billion to our GDP. There is no doubt that these two industries have underpinned Hong Kong's economic success over the years.
With a view to advancing Hong Kong﷿s achievements and seizing new opportunities, I announced the 2008 Digital 21 Strategy last December. Two of the key action areas of the strategy are to promote advanced technology and innovation, and to develop Hong Kong as a hub for technological cooperation and trade. Through a wide range of initiatives and programmes, we will ensure the continued presence of a conducive business environment for the electronics and ICT industries, and to fortify their contribution to Hong Kong﷿s economy.
Promoting advanced technology and innovation
We spare no effort to harness technology in strengthening Hong Kong﷿s position as a regional test-bed and launching pad of innovative technologies. To further the Government﷿s support for research and development (R&D) activities, we will set aside $18 billion to establish a Research Endowment Fund. Moreover, our Science Park and Cyberport will continue to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure to groom strategic clusters of electronics and ICT firms and talent.
The Government has also been promoting key technologies to encourage innovative products and services. The launch of digital terrestrial television last December and the future introduction of mobile television services give further impetus to the creation and exchange of digital content and information. We believe that the emergence of these new distribution platforms will generate a new horizon of business opportunities for the electronics and ICT industries.
Fostering technological cooperation and trade
Hong Kong is a frictionless two-way springboard. We are well placed to serve as an ideal platform for enterprises from overseas to go into the Mainland and for Mainland enterprises to go global. With the joint development projects such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Lok Ma Chau Loop area, our relationship with the Mainland will be strengthened further.
To harness Hong Kong﷿s role in bridging the Mainland to the international market, we have worked with Mainland authorities and Guangdong Province in innovation, technological development and informatisation under the National 11th Five-Year Plan. We have established closer cooperation with Shenzhen through the 䩕Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation Circle蒅, which is a platform for exchanges in expertise, information and resources to promote collaboration between R&D institutions. We will also seek to increase Hong Kong﷿s participation in the Mainland﷿s technology development plans and the formulation of national standards through the Mainland/Hong Kong Science and Technology Cooperation Committee.
Hong Kong﷿s physical connectivity with Guangdong and beyond has created enormous opportunity for local, Mainland and overseas electronics and ICT enterprises. Today, I invite Mainland and overseas enterprises to join with our local industries to take advantage of this golden opportunity, leveraging Hong Kong﷿s position as a two-way platform, to bring in foreign investment and expand your businesses. Through the four-day fairs, conferences and seminars, I believe you will be able to share and exchange views on developments and opportunities on this front. As George Bernard Shaw has said,
䩕If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.蒅
Closing
Finally, I would like to congratulate the organiser, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, for unifying the talents of the electronics and ICT industries to organise these two fairs in Hong Kong. I wish all of you particularly those from overseas a most happy and enjoyable experience in the fairs and in beautiful Hong Kong. Thank you very much.
Ends/Monday, April 14, 2008
Issued at HKT 12:24
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