FS attends APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in Hoi An, Vietnam (with photos)
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The APEC FMM provides an annual forum for APEC member economies to discuss the global economic situation and outlook, as well as collaborative actions to promote regional trade and economic growth.
The FMM sessions this year focused on a range of subjects, including the latest developments on global and regional economic and financial fronts, investment in infrastructure, work to counter base erosion and profit shifting of enterprises, as well as financial inclusion.
Before attending the FMM this morning, Mr Chan met with the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr Nguyen Xuan Phuc, along with other participating finance ministers.
Speaking at the FMM Sessions, Mr Chan stressed the importance of free trade in sustaining economic growth. He reaffirmed that Hong Kong is firmly committed to free trade and a level playing field.
"APEC has gone a long way in promoting greater economic co-operation among member economies. Going forward, APEC will continue to be the much-needed platform in forging collaboration to realise sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth of the region," he said.
Referring to the massive funding needs for infrastructure investment in the region, Mr Chan said that the Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office (IFFO) established under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority last year is working with a cluster of key stakeholders to facilitate infrastructure investments and their financing.
"To date, close to 80 organisations, including multilateral financial agencies and development banks, infrastructure project developers, investors from the public and private sector, professional services firms and many other organisations, have joined the IFFO as partners.
"Through this platform, we look forward to working with different sectors in bridging the funding gap for infrastructure development," he continued.
In the afternoon, Mr Chan also took part in the APEC Business Advisory Council's Executive Dialogue to discuss further collaboration with the private sector.
Having concluded his visit in Vietnam, Mr Chan will return to Hong Kong on Sunday afternoon (October 22).
Ends/Saturday, October 21, 2017
Issued at HKT 19:10
Issued at HKT 19:10
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