Mr. Ko, Professor Cheng, ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased to see such a distinguished gathering of academics, businessmen and officials this morning. While we come from different walks of life, we share one common vision, the vision to consolidate Hong Kong’s position as a premier services centre in the region. We must play our part in realising Hong Kong’s potential to become the most cosmopolitan city in Asia, on a par with New York and London, and that was pledged by the Chief Executive in his last Policy Address.

Last year, when I opened the First Tripartite Forum, I had honestly mixed feelings. On the one hand, I had the high hopes associated with the start of any new venture. On the other, I had little idea what would become of a group of a hundred-odd academics, businessmen and officials locked up in a confined space debating controversial topics. Fortunately, what later emerged was not blood and tears, but some very healthy food for thought for all concerned, especially my colleagues and myself in the Administration. It was collective entrepreneurial spirit at its very best. Some ideas eventually found their way into our Services Promotion Programme in one form or another. My appetite therefore has been whetted. I have similar high hopes for this year’s forum.

Hong Kong’s economy has had an unprecedentedly rough ride since the last forum. It is natural for people to look to the Government for quick fixes. Yet I believe we must raise our sights and look to far horizons. What good will it do to us if we only recover from the crisis as the old Hong Kong? The world has changed. The world continues to move on. We must not end up in the same old rut. We can, and we must, emerge as an even more seasoned and versatile economic powerhouse. Simply copying, cloning what neighbours are doing is plagiarism. And that nurtures only followers. Hong Kong is unique. We are entrepreneurs, both in the academic world, in the business world and in the Administration. We must build on our current strengths; we must also fashion new niches for the economy to advance.

The agenda for this Forum is therefore tailored to bring us into some uncharted waters. First, competition policy. Have we ensured a sufficient degree of competition in all major sectors? What is the case for privatisation and commercialisation of Government services in order to make our economy more efficient and competitive? What should be left to the market, and what should not, in an open, free and externally oriented metropolitan economy?

Second, raising competitiveness – “quality of life” sectors. What will make our “softer” sectors - education, healthcare, arts, culture, entertainment tourism, etc. as good as those in other metropolises? Are standards high enough to attract world citizens, the heads of the best of MNCs and their families? With our economic strengths, are we doing justice to our own people?

Third, Hong Kong as an innovation and technology centre. How best should we tap into innovation and technology in our modern knowledge economy? Do we mean “high tech”? And if so, what do we mean by it?

Lastly, making the non-traded sectors tradable. Should we make an effort for further privatisation in education, healthcare and to spur services exports in arts, culture and other non-traded sectors, just as we do for our business services? Is this where our advantages and opportunities might lie?

I have no settled answers to these questions. It is up to every one of you to tell me. Be provocative. Be brave. We can all be practical later. I look to you for actionable ideas best suited to Hong Kong.

I would like to thank the Hong Kong Coalition of Service Industries and the University of Hong Kong for jointly organising this Forum with the Government again. We highly value public-private partnership of this sort. I am sure we will all have a fruitful discussion this morning, and I look forward to joining you again for dinner later. Thank you very much.