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Pulling out all Stops to Work for the Future of Hong Kong

How time flies!  Some four years have gone by since I joined the Government as the Secretary for Development in late July 2012.  The work of the Development Bureau and its departments is multifarious and complicated, covering a wide range of areas, including land supply, town planning, land administration, building safety, urban renewal, public works projects, heritage conservation, harbourfront development, greening and tree management.  Given the great number of stakeholders and controversial issues involved, we often had to balance different views and interests carefully to work out an option in the best public interest.  Here, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Mr Eric Ma, the acting SDEV and all colleagues of the Development Bureau and its nine departments for their staunch support and help over the past few years.  Despite the heavy workload and manifold difficulties, our whole team worked with an undeterred and united spirit to strive for progress.  Our efforts have now borne fruit.  In particular, the supply of residential and office properties will hit a recent record high in the coming years, which will, progressively, help address public concern about housing demand and high rent.  This would be the best reward for me and my colleagues.

A week ago, I was honoured to take up my new position as the Financial Secretary to continue to work for the wellbeing of the public and to build a better society for our next generation.  I must thank the Central People’s Government and the Chief Executive for their trust in me.  What I feel most deeply is, indeed, the tremendous responsibility and sense of mission to be borne.  Despite our small economic size, Hong Kong is an international financial, shipping and trading centre, a global offshore Renminbi business hub as well as an international asset management centre.  We enjoy a competitive edge in such international arenas as financing, trade and commerce, logistics and professional services.  The great accomplishments of Hong Kong today owe much to the hard work, bold endeavours and great efforts of generations of people.

As the world economy becomes more globalized, different markets have forged even closer ties. Coupled with the rapid development of other cities in the region, there is increasingly intense competition for Hong Kong. The advancement and new developments in science and technology also bring revolutionary changes to many business modes. As Financial Secretary, the most important task for me is to maintain Hong Kong’s favourable business environment; to promote the development of new markets and support emerging industries while consolidating the advantages of pillar industries, thereby promoting diversified and sustainable development of Hong Kong’s economy, providing more quality job opportunities for the younger people; as well as maintaining healthy public finance.

I am grateful that I had the opportunities to serve the community in various capacities as a professional accountant before joining the Government. From serving in the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Legal Aid Services Council to joining the Legislative Council, I had been doing my utmost to contribute to the community. To me, each and every role carries a mission and is indeed an honour to me. As I go along, I keep reminding myself to stay humble and listen to voices of the public and my colleagues. I will work with all my heart and strength, and not to let the public down.

I have been fully committed to my new role starting from last week. Colleagues of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Government Economist have briefed me of their work and reported on the latest development. Early this week, I attended the annual mega event of Asian Financial Forum (AFF) and a symposium on the development of Asian private equity funds. This year’s AFF, in its tenth edition, attracted some 2 800 worldwide leaders from the business and financial fields. Gaining more and more attention from international economic and financial communities in recent years, the AFF held here has demonstrated Hong Kong’s position as China’s international financial centre. I came across lots of good old friends whom I know in the accounting, business and financial sectors in the AFF cocktail reception and other events. I am obliged for their support to my new job.

Of course, my top priority for the moment is to prepare the Budget for the coming financial year. I am fully aware that the Budget involves issues at different levels, and that the community has a high expectation of it. I have been making time to talk all the related issues over with KC (Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury), colleagues in FSTB and the Government Economist. Bearing in mind the views of all sectors of the community, I will make flexible use of public resources to address their needs and to foster our social and economic developments. I firmly believe that with sound economic development and appropriate measures, we can share the fruits of prosperity with all strata of our people, and allow the young to bring their talents into play. With our people living a happy life and having confidence in our long-term growth, Hong Kong will continue to be stable and prosperous, and we will be able to scale new heights.

January 22, 2017