Confidence no pie in the sky in Hong Kong

It's always nice to hear someone influential saying good things about my home town, especially when it's facing the toughest economic challenge since the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

The latest words of encouragement came from Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, who was quoted in the South China Morning Post as saying Hong Kong is in a better position to handle the financial crisis than most other places in Asia.

Like many of us, Forbes' confidence in Hong Kong lies in the strength of its banking system, which has gone through major reforms since the last crisis in 1997, enabling it to withstand the onslaught of the financial tsunami without much help from the government this time round.