A senior financial official said Monday that considerable increase
in China’s mainland business possibly resulting from its
prospective entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) will
eventually boost Hong Kong's economy.
Joseph Yam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority,
made the remarks at a conference on globalization.
"Our estimates within the authority suggest that our re-export
trade, involving the movement of goods to and from the mainland
through Hong Kong, will be considerably boosted, and should raise
our annual GDP growth rate by somewhere between 0.5 percent and one
percent," Yam said.
According to Yam, the stimulus to liberalization, globalization and
better corporate governance will expand and deepen Hong Kong's
well-established role as a fund of professional expertise, a center
of international experience, and a source and channel of
investment.
Yam noted that Hong Kong's banking sector, with its strong
reputation and long involvement in mainland business, stands to
benefit greatly from the liberalization in this area, providing
that it can position itself to make the best out of the
opportunities.
"As the largest source of foreign direct investment in the
mainland, and as China's main financial conduit and funding center,
Hong Kong will stand to benefit considerably from the increased
demand for banking services in China," he stressed.
In
the monetary sphere, the various predictions about the future
development of the Renminbi in the light of WTO membership would
most likely have positive implications for Hong Kong's economy as a
whole, Yam concluded.
(People’s Daily)