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The Government held a public forum on the way forward for Hong Kong's competition policy today (November 21).
In the opening address at the forum, the Financial Secretary, Mr Henry Tang, encouraged the public to give their views on how best to safeguard competition in Hong Kong.
Mr Tang explained that the Government had appointed the Competition Policy Review Committee (CPRC) in June last year to review the effectiveness of the current competition policy.
"On the advice of the review committee, we have launched a three-month public consultation exercise on the way forward for Hong Kong's competition policy. We have decided to act upon the committee's recommendation that we should consult the public on the way forward before drawing up any proposal," he said.
Speaking at the forum, Mr Christopher Cheng, Chairman of the CPRC, highlighted a few of the key issues that the CPRC had considered, and set out the thinking behind its recommendations.
The CPRC recommended the introduction of a new, cross-sector competition law for Hong Kong, as well as the setting up of a regulatory body to enforce the law. It was also aware that a proposal to introduce a new general competition law into Hong Kong might raise some concerns, particularly in the business community.
"The objective of any new law should not be to interfere in the markets, or to affect normal business operations," said Mr Cheng. "It should aim to enhance the local business environment by providing a clear set of guidelines on appropriate standards of market discipline that would not discriminate against any firm, big or small."
A number of leading members of the business and academic communities, including Mr Philip Chen, the Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific Airways; Mr Ricky Wong, the Chairman of City Telecom; Mr Cliff Sun, the Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Mr Felix Chan, the Chairman President of the Hong Kong Chamber of Small and Medium Business; Ms Jo Wilson, the Chairman of the Business Policy Unit, British Chamber of Commerce;, and Professor KC Chan, the Chairman of the Consumer Council; participated in today's discussion moderated by Executive Councillor Mr Henry Fan. They spoke on the various aspects of competition policy and how we might effectively apply these in Hong Kong.
About 200 guests attended the forum and freely exchanged their views.
Ends/Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:07
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