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The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) hosted a reception in Brussels to celebrate the Chinese New Year on January 26 (Brussels time).
Addressing some 450 guests from the political, economic and academic sectors as well as media representatives in Brussels, Hong KongĄ¯s Special Representative for Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Communities, Miss Mary Chow, said that in the year ahead, the HKSAR Government would continue to focus all its efforts on maintaining financial stability and reinforcing Hong KongĄ¯s reputation as a great place to do business in Asia.
Miss Chow noted that steps taken since the Asian financial crisis a few years ago, to shore up Hong KongĄ¯s financial markets through a more effective and transparent regulatory system and to improve the risk management of our banks, had helped to provide a solid basis to weather the current downturn.
She said the HKSAR Government had acted quickly to lessen the impact of the global financial crisis. These included, inter alia, measures to help create more than 60,000 job opportunities this year, and the creation of a Contingent Bank Capital Facility to make available additional capital to banks should they require it.
All these measures would help regain confidence and restore the vigour of the Hong Kong economy once their effects would have filtered through, she added.
Belgium's Minister for Enterprise and Streamlining, Mr Vincent Van Quickenborne, was the guest of honour. In his speech, he said that he had visited Hong Kong five times and it was a fascinating, cosmopolitan place to live and work.
Referring to Hong Kong's ranking as the World's Freest Economy by the Heritage Foundation, Mr Van Quickenborne, whose portfolio includes making the Belgian administration more efficient and cutting red tape for citizens and for business, said, "You are number one when it comes to open economy, and in many other areas Hong Kong is the reference. Nowhere is the administration so efficient as in Hong Kong."
In addition to the event in Brussels, the HKETO will also host celebration receptions in other major cities around Europe in January and February 2009.
Ends/Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Issued at HKT 23:15
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