In the new year of 2010, I wish Hong Kong "peace" and "prosperity", like most other people do.

At the same time, I also wish the SAR "progress", since, as the old saying goes, we will fall behind if we fail to keep pace with the rest of the world. In that connection, I am sharing with you views that could inspire insights and reflections and help the city move forward.

If we look back at the first decade of the SAR, we can see no major infrastructure or investment projects launched during this period. That was the result of excessive debates and bickering in the Legislative Council that unduly delay budget approvals.

So I learned with delight of the authorities' approval of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge project. However, the SAR part of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link is still pending despite various studies having proven its worthiness.

Let us not overlook the keen competition from Shanghai, Singapore and cities in the Pearl River Delta region that have been growing fast over these years.

Recently, when meeting with Chief Executive (CE) Donald Tsang, Premier Wen Jiabao emphasized the necessity for Hong Kong to redouble its efforts to improve people's livelihoods and to keep its economy and infrastructure competitive.

We therefore need better cooperation with Guangdong province for cross-border infrastructure network that could facilitate market penetration.

With strong support from the motherland, Hong Kong would be able to withstand an adverse economic climate and face an unpredictable future in the years ahead.

I agree with the CE's view that double dipping of our economy in 2010 is a likelihood. To minimize the possibility of that happening and avoid the stagnation effect, measures should be undertaken to stabilize prices and continuously strengthen the city's financial hub status and businesses, as well as people's confidence.

The bid to develop new enterprises and bring a new dimension and impetus to Hong Kong's economy would take at least three to five years to bear fruit, on the condition that we move along the right track.

2010 could be the year for sowing the seeds for such new enterprises, and I can tell you that running new enterprises would indeed be challenging. The costs in Hong Kong are excessively high. I could cite as an example one of the projects my group has undertaken.

We once worked with some friends and Prof Charles Kao, father of optical fibre communication, in setting up a manufacturing plant for fiber optics in Hong Kong. Due to staggering costs for rents, electricity, salaries and overhead, our products could hardly compete with those manufactured by rivals on the mainland. At the end, our plant had to shut down because of heavy losses and its facilities were sold to mainland companies.

When developing enterprises, we must identify what competitive edges we can exploit in order to succeed and which could make us stand out among others. That, of course, is easier said than done.

Finally, I hope that our legislators will focus their efforts and wisdom on helping improve our economy, infrastructure and people's lives, rather than putting political issues on the top of their agenda. Such controversial issues tend to whip up so much debate that they consume a considerable amount of time and energy of our society and no consensus could be reached within a short period of time. We are in the same boat after all, and we need to sail in the same direction.

At the beginning of the new year, may I wish my fellow citizens peace, happiness, prosperity and progress.

The author is the chairman and managing director of the Hip Shing Hong Group

(HK Edition 01/07/2010 page1)