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HK could lead delta region
By Alfons Chan (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-06-03 08:37 Hong Kong, as an international trade and finance
centre with a well-developed service industry, could lead the pan-Pearl River
Delta region in its drive to embrace the world market.
Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua said this on the sidelines of
the second meeting of the Pan-Pearl River Regional Co-operation and Development
Forum held Wednesday.
"Hong Kong excels as a service provider and has long been a world centre for
finance, trade, shipping and information. This is the city's greatest
advantage," Huang said.
He said Hong Kong could be a "dragon head" in leading the pan-delta region
towards international co-operation in economic, science and technology sectors.
Chief Executive of Macao Edmund Ho Hau-wah stressed that co-operation in the
pan-delta region will help promote economic integration.
"Economic co-operation in the region conforms with emerging trends and will
push forward complementary economic development," Ho told the forum.
He said Macao's government will actively participate in co-operative efforts
under the pan-delta framework.
Chief executives of Hong Kong and Macao, along with the governors of the nine
areas in the region, were joined by speakers from Macao's academic and business
sectors.
The guest speakers identified new opportunities for Macao and its role in the
economic integration of the pan-delta region.
With the implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement and
the China-ASEAN free trade zone, Macao is poised to play an important role in
regional co-operation, said Hoi Sai-lun, President of the Macao General
Association of Trade.
"Pan-delta economic co-operation will give added impetus to the city's gaming
and tourism industries, while encouraging political stability and consolidating
the territory as a premier entertainment capital in the region," Chairman of the
Macao Association of the Catering Industry Chan Chak-mo said.
Meanwhile, academics gave recommendations for the implementation of the
Pan-Pearl River Delta concept.
"The 11 areas in the Pan-delta group must establish a co-ordinating mechanism
to foster economic partnership," said Professor Leong Tou-hong from the Macao
Polytechnic Institute.
A common platform in the region for forging closer ties and eliminating
territorial barriers will benefit regional integration, he added.
The pan-delta region should also enhance collaborative efforts in science,
education and cultural development, said Liu Renhuai, president of the Guangzhou
Jinan University.
The first Pan-Pearl River Delta forum will close in Guangzhou today.
Provincial leaders will sign a joint-agreement covering infrastructure,
agriculture, investment, technology and tourism.
The forum advocates the concept of forming a common economic market spanning
11 areas in the region, also known as "9--2".
It encompasses the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou,
Yunnan and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and
Macao.
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