Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the International Institute of Management (IIM) Annual Dinner 2016 this evening (December 8):

David (President of the IIM, Professor David Lan), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

     Good Evening. It is my pleasure to join you tonight at the International Institute of Management's 31st Anniversary Celebration Dinner.

     Established in 1985, the IIM aims to promote professional management practice at world-class standard with an international perspective. With a multi-disciplined and multi-national membership, the IIM offers continuous professional development (CPD) programmes and networking opportunities to promote world-class management standards and innovative solutions for meeting challenges in the changing global environment.

     Hong Kong as a metropolis has earned the reputation as an international financial and business centre, attracting corporations worldwide to set up offices here and drawing professionals around the globe to move to Hong Kong for new opportunities. According to a joint survey conducted by Invest Hong Kong and the Census and Statistics Department of the HKSAR Government released in October this year, the number of business operations in Hong Kong with parent companies overseas and in the Mainland of China climbed to 7 986 in 2016, compared to 7 904 a year ago.

     As the natural gateway to Mainland China, we have been helping overseas companies to enter the China market, while assisting Chinese enterprises in going global. With the objectives of promoting the practice of professional management and enhancing the competence of leaders at all levels, IIM brings in the best international practices to organisations in the Mainland, whereby contributing to Hong Kong's function as the "super-connector" between the Mainland and the rest of the world.

     Hong Kong's success is built on the pool of talents. According to the World Trade Organization, Hong Kong is the world's 14th largest exporter of commercial services. Locally, the services sector accounts for 93% of Hong Kong's GDP and is the driving force of our economic growth. With Hong Kong's development towards a knowledge-based and diversified economy, we need to enrich the pool to support and sustain such development. To ensure Hong Kong is well prepared to rise to these challenges, we have been sparing no effort to nurture our local talents and at the same time attract overseas talents through implementation of various talent admission schemes.

     The Belt and Road initiative promulgated by Mainland China will bring a wealth of opportunities for our businesses. Our world class professional services, including financial, infrastructure development, transportation, legal and dispute resolution, information technology and environmental services sectors, are well placed to help advise, manage and provide support to any related projects in the Belt and Road countries. To seize the benefits of the initiative, the HKSAR Government has just set up the HKD$200 million Professional Services Advancement Support Scheme, or "PASS" to support Hong Kong's professional services sector to carry out worthwhile projects to spearhead pro-active outreaching promotion efforts and to improve service offerings.

     In this respect, I am confident that there is much room for collaboration between PASS and IIM, which has a long history of promoting professional development and international exchanges. There are no particular restrictions on the types of projects to be funded under PASS, so I encourage IIM to put on a thinking cap and make good use of PASS in organising innovative projects for the benefit of Hong Kong professionals.

     Ladies and gentlemen, Hong Kong's prominent service sectors are renowned for their international business orientation, depth of service, expertise and professionalism. For over three decades, IIM has made much contribution to our leading position in the region. I look forward to the continuous success of IIM in promoting world-class professional practice in the years to come.

     I wish you all a pleasant evening. Thank you very much.

Ends/Thursday, December 8, 2016
Issued at HKT 21:07

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