HONG KONG: Lawmakers are calling for fewer travel restrictions for incoming tourists and a less restrictive environment for local professionals in the mainland market.

Speaking at yesterday's Legislative Council House Committee meeting, Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang Ying-yen said Hong Kong should continue with major economic projects to promote the integration of the city and Guangdong.

"We should consolidate the traditional industries where Hong Kong has enjoyed clear advantages," Tang told lawmakers.

Tang described 2009 as an "extraordinary" year in terms of cooperation with Guangdong, as numerous infrastructural projects were entering their construction stage. "Hong Kong should match the mainland's policy of enhancing secondary industries and speeding up the development of tertiary industries," he said.

Liberal Party and wholesale and retail sector legislator Vincent Fang and tourism sector legislator Paul Tse urged the government to extend individual visitor scheme to non-Guangdong residents to boost incoming tourism.

Import and export sector and DAB lawmaker Wong Ting-kwong said local businesses had difficulty competing alongside state-owned businesses on the mainland market, while insurance sector lawmaker Chan Kin-por criticized requirements that effectively keep out Hong Kong-based companies.

Chan said that the requirement that insurance companies must have $5 billion worth of capital to establish businesses on the mainland is a huge barrier for them, and thus should be lowered.

Accountancy sector legislator Paul Chan and architectural, surveying and planning sector legislator Patrick Lau both pointed out the urgent need of certification/inspection systems and the simplification of quality inspection processes.

Tang acknowledged the dilemmas that Hong Kong businesspeople in different sectors are facing on the mainland and promised to present the problems to the Central Government.

Tang also welcomed the legislators and the public to provide a practical road map to concretize ideas. He ensured that the government will do its utmost to help Hong Kong-owned enterprises cope with the problems on the mainland.

The cooperation between Hong Kong and Guangdong has been blossoming since the 2003 implementation of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement.

"In the coming years, we will actively complement the mainland and seek to incorporate the relevant Hong Kong/Guangdong cooperation initiatives into the plan, to allow Hong Kong to give full play to its unique advantages and make new contributions to the opening up, reform and modernization of the mainland," Tang said.

(HK Edition 01/08/2010 page1)