Speech at the opening of Asian Financial Forum
by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, Mr Donald Tsang
January 20, 2010

在亚洲金融论坛上的讲话
香港特别行政区行政长官 曾荫权
2010年1月20日

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

各位嘉宾，女士们，先生们：

Good morning. It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to Hong Kong for the Asian Financial Forum. I am delighted that so many prestigious speakers and guests are taking part again this year.

上午好！欢迎大家来到香港参加本届亚洲金融论坛。我很高兴有这么多著名的发言者及嘉宾今年再次参加本届论坛。

How things have changed since our first Forum in 2007. You may remember that the theme of the inaugural event was "Leveraging New Opportunities - Advancing Regional Stability". Then came the full impact of the global financial crisis. The second AFF took place this time last year amid global economic turmoil. Our theme last year, "The Changing Face of Asia", was an appropriate choice. Today the situation has improved considerably, although it would be premature to say that we are completely out of the woods. However, many economists agree that there has been a shift in global economic power away from Europe and the US and towards Asia – and in particular China. So this year's Forum is aptly titled: "Asia in the New Economic Order".

自2007年首届金融论坛之后，国际形势发生了很大的变化。大家也许还记得首届论坛的主题是——“促进稳定　拓展商机”。紧接着，全球金融危机爆发，带来了巨大的影响。去年的这个时候，第二届亚洲金融论坛在全球经济不景气的背景下召开。但我们选择了一个合适的主题——“转变中的亚洲面貌”。现在形势已经有了很大好转，虽然说我们完全摆脱困境还为时过早。但是，许多经济学家都同意，现在全球经济实力已经从欧洲和美洲转移到亚洲来,尤其是到中国来。因此，今年论坛选择了恰当的主题：“环球经济新局面——亚洲新角色”。

Having learned some difficult lessons during the Asian financial crisis a decade ago, our region has been relatively resilient in the face of the recent financial tsunami. Today, the international community expects Asia to rise to the challenge and play a more prominent role in the changing economic landscape. Each of our economies has a part to play. So today, I want to talk about some of the ways we intend to grasp the opportunities in Hong Kong as well as facilitate Asia's financial and economic progress.

在十年前的亚洲金融危机中，我们学到了许多经验教训。因而面对最近的金融海啸，我们显得比较灵活。今天，国际社会期待亚洲迎接挑战，在改变经济面貌方面发挥更重要的作用。我们每个经济体都占有一席之地。因此今天，我想谈一下我们打算在香港抓住机会促进亚洲金融和经济发展的一些方法。

Last month, the Asian Development Bank forecast the 14 economies of emerging East Asia – including Hong Kong and the mainland of China – to grow by 6.8 per cent this year. That's up from the Bank's previous forecast of 6.5 per cent growth. This is better than many of us would have dared hope for this time last year. However, we should not become overly optimistic. There are dangers lurking that could stall the recovery process.

上个月，亚洲发展银行预计，包括香港和中国大陆在内的东亚14个新经济体今年将以6.8%的速度增长，比先期预计的6.5%要高出0.3个百分点。这样的情况要比我们中的许多人去年这个时候所希望的要好得多。但是，我们也不能过度乐观。因为存在着潜在的拖延经济复苏进程的危险因素。

Governments around the world, including here in Asia, have spent vast sums of money in shielding their economies from the worst of the global financial crisis. In Hong Kong, we have spent some US$11.2 billion on economic stimulus measures. That is equivalent to about 5.2 per cent of our GDP. We have taken extraordinary steps to guarantee bank deposits, support small and medium enterprises and provide additional capital to the banking sector if required. Other economies have taken similar action.

世界各国政府，包括亚洲在内，已经投入了大量资金防止其经济走向全球金融危机的最坏境地。香港也已投入了112亿美元用于经济刺激措施，这相当于香港GDP的5.2%。我们还采取了特别措施保证银行存款，支持中小企业发展，必要时还向银行部门提供了额外资金。其他经济体也都采取了类似的措施。

Now is the time for Governments to start co-ordinating exit strategies from these stimulus measures. A lack of co-ordination may lead to imbalances and financial instability that could hurt our region. The risk of inflation and fiscal shortfalls as well as changing investment appetites also poses policy challenges for the region.

现在政府部门应该开始协调这些刺激措施的退出策略。缺乏协调可能会导致地区不平衡和金融不稳定，对地区发展不利。通胀的风险，财政的短缺以及不断变化的投资偏好，同样也会给地区带来政策性挑战。

Against this backdrop we have seen the spirit of co-operation gaining momentum. Asian economies – individually and collectively – stand to benefit from greater co-operation in managing risks, reinforcing systemic resilience, enhancing productivity and ensuring financial stability. By working together, we can lay a solid foundation for sustainable economic development. This way Asia can play a more constructive role in re-engineering and reshaping the global financial architecture.

在这一大背景之下，我们看到了通力合作带来的动力。亚洲的经济体——无论是个体还是集体——都从应对风险、加强制度灵活性、提高生产力、确保金融稳定的全面合作中获益。共同合作能够为经济持续发展奠定扎实的基础。如此一来，亚洲将可以为重塑全球金融体系发挥建设性的作用。

A great example of how we can compete and collaborate at the same time is the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, which was launched on 1st January. The new free trade area rivals the EU (European Union) and NAFTA (North American Free Trade Area) in terms of GDP, trade volumes and population. It marks a new milestone in our region's history of collaboration. Strategically and historically, both the mainland of China and ASEAN are our major trading partners. We have a great deal of experience as a conduit for trade, investment and economic integration within our region.

有一个很好的例子能够说明我们完全可以在竞争的同时展开合作，那就是今年1月成立的中国-东盟自由贸易区。新自由贸易区可以同欧盟、北美自由贸易区竞相匹敌，不论是在国民生产总值、贸易总额还是人口基数上。这是我们区域合作史上的一个新的里程碑。从战略和历史的角度看，中国大陆和东盟都是我们的主要贸易伙伴。我们积累了很多作为区域贸易、投资和经济一体化渠道的经验。

We are a stable and vibrant economy with fundamental strengths that have stood the test of time. These include a simple and low tax regime; high-quality services and free flow of information and capital with no foreign exchange controls. We also have a stable and fully convertible currency as well as a free and open economy buttressed by the rule of law and an independent judiciary. All this has helped to enhance our role in three important areas, namely as a global financial centre in the Asian time zone; as a regional asset management centre and as an offshore centre for Renminbi business.

香港是一个稳定而又充满活力的的经济体系，我们的基础实力经受住了时间的考验。简单的税制、优质的服务、信息和没有外汇管制的资本的自由流动都是香港的优势。我们还有一个稳定和完全可兑换的货币体系，香港的法治和独立的司法制度更为经济的自由开放提供了有力支撑。所有这些都极大地加强了香港在以下三个重要领域的地位，即亚洲的金融中心，地区资金管理中心，和人民币兑换清算中心。

What's next?

接下来我们要做什么？

We will continue to build on our strength as an international financial centre and enhance the quality and competitiveness of our market to attract and anchor international talent, capital, financial institutions and products. Our sound fundamentals that I mentioned a moment ago have helped to attract investors from all over the world to Hong Kong. We have a broad and deep talent pool that has helped to expand our horizons, generate a vibrant cultural blend of East and West and enhance our city's vitality and vibrancy.

我们将继续增强香港作为国际金融中心的优势，提高市场品质和竞争力，吸引更多的国际人才、资金和金融机构及产品。刚才提到的良好基础因素，已经吸引了世界各地的投资商来港。香港是全面的顶尖人才聚集地，这有助于我们开拓眼界，促进东西方文化交融，增强香港的生机和活力。

At the same time, we have become a vital testing ground for the liberalisation of our nation's capital account and the regionalisation and internationalisation of the Mainland currency, the Renminbi. In just the past year, we have made great progress in expanding the broad range of Renminbi products and services offered in Hong Kong. Perhaps the most significant development was a Renminbi trade settlement pilot scheme that came into operation last July. Also last year, Hong Kong banks on the Mainland were given the green light to issue Renminbi bonds in Hong Kong for the first time.

Two Mainland subsidiaries of Hong Kong banks, HSBC (China) and the Bank of East Asia (China), issued Renminbi bonds earlier this year raising 3 billion Renminbi and 4 billion Renminbi respectively. And last October, the Central Government also launched the first Renminbi sovereign bonds in Hong Kong totaling 6 billion Renminbi. This represented a huge vote of confidence in Hong Kong as our nation's global financial centre. We will continue to strengthen Hong Kong's role as the testing ground for the liberalisation of the Mainland currency. This includes developing other Renminbi business, such as Renminbi financing and promoting direct investment in Hong Kong.

同时，香港已经成为国家资金账户自由化、人民币区域化和国际化的重要试验基地。刚刚过去的一年里，香港在扩大人民币产品和服务方面取得了长足的发展。或许最具有意义的发展，是人民币跨境贸易结算试点于去年7月份正式实施。同样是在去年，香港设在内地的银行首次获批在港发行人民币债券。香港在内地的两家银行——汇丰银行和东亚银行——于今年年初开始已发行人民币债券，分别融资到30亿和40亿港币。去年10月，中央政府也在香港首次发行了60亿人民币债券，这充分证明了中央对香港作为我国的全球金融中心的信心。我们将继续加强香港作为大陆货币自由化试点的作用，包括发展诸如筹措资金、促进在港直接投资等人民币的其他业务。

To speed up our financial integration with the Mainland, we will implement new measures with our neighbours in Guangdong Province on an early and pilot basis to enhance the two-way flow of financial institutions, financial products, capital and talent between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region.

为了加快香港同内地的金融融合，我们将采取新的先行先试措施，同邻省广东一道加强香港和珠三角地区在金融机构、金融产品以及资金和人才方面的双向流动。

Hong Kong will continue to be a major capital formation centre for Mainland investors. Since the listing of the first H-share enterprise here in the early 1990s, we have been serving as the preferred capital-raising centre for Mainland enterprises. We provide equity listing, bond issuance, international asset management and risk management services. More than 480 Mainland enterprises are listed in Hong Kong, together raising a total of HK$2.3 trillion since 1993. The 10 largest IPOs in our stock market are all from the Mainland. Throughout the global financial crisis, our stock market has operated smoothly and remained one of the most active and successful bourses in the world.

香港将继续作为内地企业重要的集资中心。自从第一家H股企业在20世纪90年代初在此上市，香港就一直是内地企业首选的融资中心。我们为各企业提供公平上市的机会，提供债券保险、国际资金管理和风险管理等服务。目前已有480多家内地企业在港上市，自1993年以来共融资2.3万亿港币。香港最大的10家首次公开募股公司都来自内地。本次全球金融危机以来，香港股市一直正常平稳运作，成为世界上最活跃、最成功的交易所之一。

We will also continue to break down barriers to cross-boundary trade and investment under our unique free trade pact with the Mainland, what we call the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, or CEPA. The latest supplement to CEPA came into effect last October. Under CEPA, bank branches established by a Hong Kong bank in Guangdong can now set up "cross-location" sub-branches in Guangdong Province. This helps them expand their business network across the boundary and improves the quality and efficiency of banking services in the region.

我们还将依据香港与内地签订的特别自由贸易协定，也就是《更紧密经贸关系的安排》，继续打破跨境贸易与投资的壁垒。《更紧密经贸关系的安排》的最新的补充书已经于去年10月生效。在这一安排下，香港银行设在广东的分行现已能够在广东省内开设跨区域分行。这有助于扩展内地的跨境商业网络，提高区域内银行业的质量和效率。

Given the Mainland's large and increasingly affluent population, Hong Kong is an ideal – and logical – wealth management centre for Chinese individuals and institutions. Hong Kong serves as an effective channel for orderly capital outflows from the Mainland, and Mainland financial institutions can manage their overseas investments through Hong Kong.

鉴于内地庞大而日益富裕的人口不断增加，香港理所当然的还将成为中国个人和机构理想的财富管理中心。香港是内地资金有序流出的一个重要渠道。内地金融机构通过香港能够管理他们在海外的投资。

Ladies and gentlemen,

女士们，先生们，

We will continue to streamline the financial system in Hong Kong to become a more efficient and low risk corridor for investment into and out of the Mainland.

我们将继续规范香港的金融系统，努力成为投资商进入内地或是走向世界的高效率、低风险的通道。

The multi-currency cross-border payment arrangements between the Mainland and Hong Kong, which cover the Hong Kong dollar, US dollar, Euro and British pound, have been in operation since last March. This increases the efficiency of cross-border multi-currency payments while reducing risks and costs. It also deepens financial co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong.

去年3月起，大陆和香港建立的覆盖多币种的跨境支付清算合作机制已经运行，多币种包含了港币、美元、欧元以及英镑等。这极大地提高了多币种跨境制度清算的效率，同时也降低了风险和成本，而且还加深了内地与香港的金融合作。

Through closer financial co-operation, we aim to play an exemplary role in promoting intra-Asia financial collaboration and integration. In particular, we have the experience; expertise and the motivation to better connect our nation with partners in the region and around the world.

通过更密切的金融合作，我们旨在促进亚洲各国金融合作和融合上发挥示范作用。更重要的是，我们有经验、有专家、有动力，更好地加强我国同区域内以及世界各地贸易伙伴的联系。

Ladies and gentlemen,

女士们，先生们，

I hope I have provided some food for thought at the beginning of the Asian Financial Forum. I look forward to knowing more about your views on Asia in the New Economic Order. With global economic focus gradually shifting from West to East, I encourage you all to take full advantage of this platform to share your experiences and ideas.

我希望我在本次亚洲金融论坛开幕之际能为各位提供了一些值得思考的意见，我期待着获得各位关于新经济秩序下的亚洲的更多见解。随着全球经济焦点由西方转向东方，我鼓励大家充分利用这个平台，分享你们的经验和想法。

Have a great Forum and a very enjoyable stay in Hong Kong.

预祝本届论坛圆满成功！祝各位在香港度过美好的时光！

Thank you.

谢谢！