1996 - 2000

The Better Hong Kong Foundation held a delegation visit to Germany, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. This mission demonstrated the importance Hong Kong’s major trading partners in Europe attached to Hong Kong’s geo-economic position and their confidence in its people and the strength of business in Asia. Delegates presented state secretaries, ministers, senior government officials and business leaders in host countries with the latest political and economic situation of Hong Kong, its investment outlook and developments in technology and innovation. During the visit, the delegation held discussions with influential think tanks and non-government organizations on issues of common interest and mutual concern. Delegates also met with the senior management of renowned multinational corporations, including Germany’s DaimlerChrysler and Siemens, Finland’s Nokia, Sweden’s Ericsson and Philips of the Netherlands. The mission toured science parks in Berlin, Stockholm and Amsterdam, and discussed Hong Kong’s partnership prospects with them. The group also gave presentations at luncheons and dinners hosted by important forums and business associations in Berlin, Munich, Helsinki, Stockholm and Amsterdam. Among the delegates were distinguished members of Hong Kong’s business and academic communities, including Professor Lau Siu Kai, Associate Director, Hong Kong Institute of Asia Pacific Studies, the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Professor Francis Lui, Director, Centre for Economic Development, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Mr. Daniel Fung, Senior Counsel, Des Voeux Chamber and former Solicitor-General, Hong Kong Government; Mr. Peter Lo, CEO, Provisional Hong Kong Science Park/Hong Kong Industrial Estates and Hong Kong Industrial Technology Centre; Dr. Sudirto, President Director, PT Bomar Securities, a member of the CP Group; Ms. Anne Chen, Partner, Wlkinson & Grist; and Ms. Bing-ling CHOW, Vice President, Wong’s Electronics. For the first time, a Hong Kong Government Principal Investment Consultant from the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in Europe, Mr. Y. C. Tam, joined the Foundation’s event. At public forums and business meetings, Professor Lau briefed the European audiences on Hong Kong’s constitutional development, the major social issues after the Handover, public aspirations and the political landscape in the years ahead. Professor Lui reiterated the importance of Hong Kong in Asia Pacific as an international business centre and a gateway to China. Foreign investors would benefit both from their investment and partnership with Hong Kong corporations and from using it as a regional base to China. China’s imminent accession to WTO would provide even greater business opportunities for Hong Kong, especially in the financial and service sectors, with the potential for commercial activities to grow in both scale and number. As a keynote speaker at the business gatherings, Mr. Daniel Fung articulated the four pillars of strength for Hong Kong’s continued top ranking as the freest economy in the world. The ‘level-playing field’, WTO business compliance, zero tolerance for corruption and the rule of law were the formula for Hong Kong’s success. Mr. Fung added that, “In keeping abreast with today’s knowledge economy and trade globalization, Hong Kong is expanding its business portfolio to embark on a bold and visionary infrastructure development on technology and innovation, such as Cyberport and science parks, and a mission-critical education and human resource policy and strategy package to upgrade the quality of our work force.” Delegate Peter Lo used the visit to introduce his three related technology and industrial organizations to business communities and prospective clients as well as initiating partnership discussions with the science parks in the host countries.

A Better Hong Kong Foundation delegation visited Canada and the United States where they met with government officials, congressmen, policy advisors and business leaders to discuss Hong Kong issues. The discussions focused on technology, financial trends and the economic outlook of Hong Kong in the face of China’s imminent accession to the World Trade Organization. The Better Hong Kong Foundation organizes two to three delegations of this nature to North America each year to promote Hong Kong as an international business centre. The mission, led by The Hon. Nellie Fong, Executive Councillor of the HKSAR and Chairman of the Foundation’s Executive Committee, visited Toronto, Canada, and Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Silicon Valley and San Francisco in the U.S. from January 27 to February 5, 2000. The delegation was composed of prominent Hong Kong industrialists, CEOs from the IT sector and leading members of the financial and legal community – including Mr. Anthony Au, Dr. Cheng Wen Cheng, Mr. Raymond Chu, Mr. Daniel Fung, Dr. Frederick Hu, Mr. Laurence Li, Mr. Liu Mingkang, Mr. Peter Lo, Mr. W.H. Ng, Mr. Andrew Sheng, Mr. Lawrence Tan, Mr. Thomas Tang, Mr. Ben Wong, Mr. George Yuen and Mr. Alvin Lee. In the U.S., the delegation met with members of Congress, influential think tanks such as the CATO Institute and the American Enterprise Institute, government officials in the Clinton administration, the Chairman and CEO of NASD, influential technology councils and business associations. In Washington, D.C., the delegation held meetings with leading technology firms such as AOL, EDS, ManTech International Corp, Motley Fool and Network Solutions. The delegation also met with The Northern Virginia Technology Council, The Information Technology Industry Council, The Greater Washington Initiative and The Coalition of Employment through Exports; and venture capital firms such as Venturehouse and FBR Venture Capital Partners. High-tech and venture capitalist firms on the delegation’s Silicon Valley and San Francisco itinerary included Cisco Systems, Intel, Oracle, Solectron, Goldman Sachs, H & Q Asia Pacific, National Semiconductors and Materials Association, the National California Venture Capital Association and Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, Pentagon Inc, China Vest, W.I. Harper and the World Affairs Council. The delegation attended dinners hosted by Ambassador Mickey Kantor, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and Ms. Jackie Willis, Hong Kong’s U.S. Commissioner in Washington, D.C. In San Francisco, a series of receptions and dinners for the delegation were hosted by Forbes, the Vice Mayor of San Jose, Stanford University, HongKong-SV.com and the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, creating even more opportunities for exchanging ideas and networking. Earlier in Toronto, some members of the delegation held useful discussions with government leaders, Ontario Exports, Hong Kong Canada Business Association, Canadian Bankers Association and multinational corporations such as Nortel Networks, Descartes, Sybase Canada, HSBC Canada and Citibank. They also visited The University of Toronto, where they met with members from the software development company Neteka, and the Centre for International Studies. A meeting was also held with the Deans of Law from the University of Toronto and the Osgoode Law School of York University. Meeting with Ambassador Mickey Kantor & AOL

A delegation visit to the U.S. by Hong Kong business and government leaders was organized by the Better Hong Kong Foundation, led by Nellie K.M. Fong, the Executive Councillor of the Hong Kong SAR, and Chairperson of the Foundation’s Executive Committee. According to Mrs. Fong, “there is great interest in what Hong Kong is doing to address the regional economic crisis and widespread recognition that steps we are taking to strengthen our financial markets, develop our information technology capabilities, increase our focus on education, and carry out important reforms in the structure of our civil service will leave Hong Kong well positioned for renewed growth.” The delegation – which included Andrew Sheng, Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission; Daniel Fung, former Solicitor General of Hong Kong; Richard Li, Chairman and Chief Executive, Pacific Century Group; Richard Wong, Director, School of Business and Professor of Economics at the University of Hong Kong; and George Yuen, the Chief Executive of the Better Hong Kong Foundation – visited New York City, Boston, and Washington D.C. from March 18 to 24. Mr. Sheng addressed members of the financial community in both New York and Washington, and there was great interest in the reforms Hong Kong was making in its securities market, particularly in the proposed merger of the Stock and Futures exchanges. The delegation also held meetings with the New York Stock Exchange, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Moody’s Investors Service, and Standard & Poor’s, in addition to a number of leading financial firms. Mr. Li had meetings with a number of business leaders to discuss how the new Cyberport will enable Hong Kong to encourage leading international information technology firms to expand their Hong Kong operations. During his meetings, he revealed that companies such as Microsoft, Intel, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Oracle, Legend, and Yahoo, had already expressed interest in taking part in this major new project. The members of the delegation also met with political leaders in Washington, including members of the Senate Banking Committee and the House of Representatives Asia-Pacific Subcommittee. Sessions were also held with the Institute of International Finance, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission, the Economic Strategy Institute, the Recording Industry Association of America, the U.S. Information Technology Office, and the Congressional Research Service. During the visit, Mr. Daniel Fung held discussions with American Bar Association and law professors in leading U.S. universities. In those talks, he was able to review post-handover developments in Hong Kong’s legal system and the continued importance of the rule of law. Professor Richard Wong joined the delegation in Washington D.C. and contributed significantly to discussions on Hong Kong’s economic outlook and its long-term strategy for economic development. The Boston leg of the visit enabled the group to meet with members of the academic and business communities at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Biotechnology Process Engineering Center. During meetings throughout the visit, the delegation emphasized the importance of the stabilization of the Japanese yen for financial recovery throughout Asia, and that China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation would both serve as the catalyst for a genuine and comprehensive improvement in U.S. – China relations and also help contribute significantly to growth in the global economy.   (From left) Dr. Daniel Fung, Mrs. Nellie Fong, Mr. Andrew Sheng and Prof. Richard Wong Mr. Andrew Sheng, Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission, delivered his speech