Speech by CE at NYETO's
luncheon in Boston
****************************************************
Following
is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, at a luncheon in Boston
hosted by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York this afternoon (May
5, Boston Time):
Distinguished guests, ladies
and gentlemen, colleagues,
Good
afternoon. I'm very pleased to be with you today in Boston, my first official
visit here, one I've been looking forward to for a long time. I am even more interested
in visiting Boston when I read, a few weeks ago, that Boston had been named one
of the world's most livable cities in the Mercer 2015 Quality of Living
rankings.
Of course,
the people of Boston don't need me or Mercer to tell them that they've got a
good thing going: a city renowned for its community spirit; a city long
celebrated as an international powerhouse in education; a city fast-emerging as
a global business and technology hub.
Our
relations with the United States are strong and longstanding. Our relations
with Boston are promising. And now that Cathay Pacific Airways has launched its
direct passenger service between Hong Kong and Boston - and we know how
convenient direct, non-stop flights are, a good 8-hour sleep, two or three
movies, and a few drinks on board are all you do to get to Hong Kong - I look
forward to expanding ties between our two cities.
Last year,
the US was Hong Kong's second-largest trading partner, after only Mainland
China. Our bilateral merchandise trade came in at more than US$70 billion in
2014. Massachusetts' exports to Hong Kong hit nearly US$1 billion last year,
ranking it ninth among US states. Boston, no doubt, contributed the lion's
share of that.
And, for a
city of just over seven million, we punch well above our weight: in 2013, Hong
Kong was the US's 18th largest trading partner. The US was our fifth-largest
source of inward direct investment, as well as our 10th-largest destination of
overseas direct investment.
Let me add one
more piece of telling economic statistic here. Last year, some US$49 billion
worth of US trade with Mainland China was routed through Hong Kong. That's
about nine per cent of your total trade in goods with the Mainland. And we
helped make it happen.
Indeed,
there is much Hong Kong can offer US business looking to the Mainland for
opportunity. We are your super-connector to the Mainland of China. That's
thanks largely to our "one country, two systems" arrangement. It means
that, while Hong Kong is part of China, it is also distinct from other cities
in China, as we practise the other "system". It gives us unparalleled
advantages as a common platform between the United States and China - in
business, trade, finance and more. When I say more, I definitely include
science and technology which is the reason for my visits to Harvard and MIT on
this short trip. And these "one country, two systems" advantages are
unique to Hong Kong. When you are in Hong Kong, you are in China. But then Hong
Kong is a city that practises "the other" system which is distinctly
different from the rest of China.
Similarly,
we have what Mainland China needs to go out to the world with its trade and
investment. For more than a century, Hong Kong has maintained the best business
network with the Mainland of China.
Money,
information, trade and people all flow freely in and out of Hong Kong. Our
communications and logistics first-class. Our tax system simple - by the way
our personal tax return is a simple form of four pages printed in large fonts.
By the way, our profits tax ceiling is 16.5 per cent - last year we had the
highest profits tax revenue. I know it is hard to comprehend, but I have been
told that the lower the rate, the more you collect.
And we believe
in letting business do what it does best. We believe also in competition. So
individuals and corporates from all over the world can compete with locals on a
level playing field. And you do not have to worry about government owned
competitors - because we do not, as a government, own businesses, unless of
course you happen to be in the theme park business since, I have to confess, we
do own part of Disney in Hong Kong.
That's why,
for the past 21 years running, the Washington-based Heritage Foundation has
ranked Hong Kong number one in its Index of economic freedom. It's why, too,
nearly 7 600 Mainland Chinese and foreign based companies keep offices in Hong
Kong. That includes well over 1 300 US companies.
Hong Kong
is not any international financial centre, we are China's international
financial centre, and the world's China financial centre. We serve as a
launching pad for China's new reform measures, and so we have first-mover
advantages - to share with US businesses.
The
Renminbi, the Mainland Chinese currency, is a prime example of our
super-connector role. Eleven years ago, we took the opportunity to
internationalise the Renminbi. Today, Hong Kong is by far the world's largest
offshore Renminbi hub. Through cross-border trade and direct and portfolio
investment, Hong Kong connects Renminbi markets on the Mainland and around the
world, expanding the circulation, and convertibility, of the Renminbi.
In 2014,
banks in Hong Kong managed Renminbi trade settlement exceeding RMB 6.3
trillion, an increase of more than 60 per cent over the previous year. Hong
Kong banks now handle some 70 per cent of global Renminbi payments.
US
companies are welcome to issue Renminbi bonds in Hong Kong. We have seen
considerable expansion in the range of issuers. They include such
multinationals as McDonald's, which issued Renminbi bonds in Hong Kong to
finance their Mainland operations.
The
Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect is the most noticeable of Hong Kong's
super-connector roles between Mainland China and the rest of the world. Under
the scheme, running smoothly since its launch in November last year, investors
in Hong Kong, and from around the world, can invest, directly, in more than 500
Shanghai-listed shares through the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. And Mainland
investors can trade in about 280 Hong Kong-listed shares - again, directly -
via the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Just how well is it doing? Well, just a
few weeks ago, both northbound and southbound turnover enjoyed record-breaking
trading days, with the highest combined daily turnover reaching approximately
US$5 billion, and that's daily turnover!
We're in
this super-connector role for the long haul. Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect
is only the beginning. Up next is the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, which
we expect to be up and running later this year.
Our super-connector role is
about more than finance. We have a free-trade agreement with Mainland China
known as the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). CEPA gives Hong
Kong companies tariff-free access to the Mainland for goods produced in Hong
Kong. It also offers Hong Kong service suppliers preferential access to the
vast and rapidly growing Mainland market.
CEPA is
nationality neutral. American producers and services companies are welcome to
partner with Hong Kong companies to take advantage of CEPA. You can also set up
manufacturing operations in Hong Kong to realise CEPA's benefits.
We've also
just implemented a services agreement with the very prosperous Guangdong
Province just across the boundary. The agreement gives Hong Kong companies full
liberalisation in services trade with Guangdong. And it's the first step in
opening up the entire Mainland to liberalised trade in services with Hong Kong.
China's
Central Government, by the way, formally established a free trade zone in
Guangdong just last month. Guangdong already receives about one third of Hong
Kong's outward direct investment in the Mainland. And the new Guangdong free
trade zone is certain to provide countless opportunities to our business and
investment there.
Hong Kong
is a staunch supporter of free trade. We are now finalising a free-trade pact
with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, with its more than 600
million consumers in 10 member nations.
On
innovation and technology, Hong Kong is also your super-connector to the
Mainland of China.
Our R&D
comparative advantages are rooted in the rule of law and our independent
judiciary. Yes, your intellectual property is safe and secure in Hong Kong. We
are also blessed with world-class tertiary institutions, 21st century
technology infrastructure and solid technology cooperation with the Mainland on
all levels.
We've got
talent, too. Alongside our distinguished academics, Hong Kong researchers and
inventors made a splash at the recent International Exhibition of Innovations
of Geneva. They picked up 13 gold awards, five silvers, and a "Grand
Prix".
The
"Grand Prix" was awarded to Vitargent, a Hong Kong-based
biotechnology company. Vitargent developed technology using fish embryos to
test for toxic substances in a variety of consumer products, from food and
medicine to cosmetics, plastics, drinking water and just about any other substance
that the human body may come into contact with.
Vitargent
is among the many technology start-ups, and established companies, in our Hong
Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation. Indeed, more than 30 US tech
companies are now located in Hong Kong Science Park. They cover a great range
of promising areas, from software development and biotechnology, to LED
lighting, integrated circuit design, semiconductors and electric vehicles.
We welcome
more US companies to join them, along with such major US technology players as
Google, Twitter, Digital Realty Trust and CenturyLink Technology Solutions in
Hong Kong. Our information and communications technology infrastructure and our
liberalised telecommunications market open up a wealth of opportunity for
e-commerce, wireless/mobile, digital-content creation and service, cloud
computing, and much more.
According
to a recent Jones Lang Lasalle report, Boston ranks second in the country for
technology employment. Clearly, Boston, you have the talent, and the drive, to
make a difference in Hong Kong - and through Hong Kong, all of China. I invite
you to build your businesses, and start your start-ups, in Hong Kong. Where the
future is already up and running.
Ladies and
gentlemen, my schedule only allows me to spend one day in Boston. It seems that
I am going to miss Fenway Park and its famous Green Monster on this trip. I
hope that, in the not-too-distant-future, I can come to Boston again, and
enjoy, like all of you, a Boston Red Sox game.
Thank you.
Ends/Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Issued at HKT 03:58
為慶祝波士頓香港開通直航來訪的香港特首梁振英，昨（五）日中午在劍橋市瑪麗奧酒店，向二百五十名來自各界出席者強調，香港實行“一國兩制“，絕對是中美之間的超級連接者（Super Connecter）。
麻州企業發展助理部長范文南（Nam Pham），麻州眾議員黃子安，陳德基，以及擔任州議會旅遊、藝術及文化發展聯席委員會主席的Cory
Atkins，昨日都應邀坐在午宴主桌，也強調了香港要藉著國泰航空，推動香港與波士頓之間的旅遊業務。
梁振英在致詞中列舉多項數據，指香港雖小，人口僅七百萬，卻是中美之間的“超級連接者”，無論貿易，金融或科技，都發揮有極大作用。
他強調，原因之一是香港實施“一國兩制”，對有意開拓中國大陸市場的美國企業來說，踏入香港等於進了中國，但香港卻實施著和中國大陸其他地方非常不同的另一種制度，無論是金錢，資訊，貿易或人口，全能自由流通。
談及金融時，梁振英指香港不單只是一個國際金融中心，更是中國的國際金融中心，世界的中國金融中心，是中國推行新改革辦法的試驗點。美國企業到香港，都能分享到第一波政策優惠。
梁振英說人民幣最好的例子。十一年前，香港承接國際化人民幣的任務。今日，香港是全世界最大的離岸人民幣樞紐。在2014年內，香港管理的人民幣貿易交割，超過了六點三兆元（ 6.3 trillion），比前一年增加60%，香港的銀行，現在處理大約全世界70%的全球人民幣支付。
上海香港的股票連接也是香港最受人矚目的“超級連接者”角色。去年十一月起，香港及世界各地的投資者，都可經由香港股市，投資五百種上海上市股票。大陸投資者可以投資大約兩百八十支在香港上市的股票。
梁振英強調，香港和美國的關係良好，長久，和波士頓的關係也非常有潛力。現在國泰航空開通了兩地直航服務，波士頓人更是可以在享受八小時好睡，看兩三部電影，喝幾杯飲品後，就到香港了。
畢馬威會計師樓合伙人麥永芬（中）在香港駐美國總經濟貿易專員梁卓文（右）引介，向香港特首梁振英致意。（菊子攝）
