Rafael Hui: Hong Kong´s future tied with motherland

Source: Xinhuanet | 06-29-2007 08:52

HONG KONG, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Close integration with the mainland will boost Hong Kong's economy as many business opportunities will occur with the robust growth of the mainland, said Rafael Hui, chief secretary for administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, here Thursday.

"The future of Hong Kong's economy and development will be bright if the city moves to seize the opportunities and ties into the mainland's economic growth," he said in an interview with Xinhua.

Hui said that since 1997, the one factor that affected Hong Kong's development the most was the extent and the pace of the mainland's economic growth.

As China has emerged as one of the largest economies and a major mover of the world's economy as a result of globalization, Hong Kong has benefited more from the mainland's growth than other economies in the world have.

He cited the listing of a large number of mainland companies in Hong Kong over the past years, noting that without such listings, Hong Kong's stock and capital markets could not have been so prosperous.

Official figures indicated that by the end of 2006, 367 mainland companies had been listed on Hong Kong's stock market, accounting for half of the Hong Kong's total market value and 60 percent of trading volume.

"As long as we do not let go of this golden opportunity, we will continue to prosper. We should also note that the better the integration, the better the flow of people, cargo and capital, the greater the benefit for Hong Kong," he said.