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After attending the East Asia Summit in Cebu, Prime Minister Rt Hon Helen Clark made an official visit to Macao on 16 January 2007 for bilateral talks with the Government of Macao.
The Prime Minister met and had discussions with Chief Executive Mr Edmund Ho together with the President of the Macao Legislative Assembly, Ms Susana Chou, Secretary for Administration and Justice Ms Florinda Chan, Secretary for the Economy and Finance Mr Francis Tam, and Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Mr Ho Veng On.
During their discussions the Prime Minister and the Chief Executive both agreed that there was plenty of opportunity to expand trade and economic links between New Zealand and Macao. They also both expressed the hope that, in the future, there might be cultural collaborations between artists from New Zealand and Macao. The Chief Executive hosted a lunch for the Prime Minister and her party following the conclusion of their discussions.
During her visit, the Prime Minister also met key business contacts with an interest in New Zealand and visited the Fisherman's Wharf development. Both events supported efforts by the Consulate General in Hong Kong and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to raise New Zealand's profile and promote New Zealand's goods and services in Macao. The Prime Minister was also taken on a tour of several of the key UNESCO World Heritage sites in Macao.
Winners of an essay competition organised as part of the second year of the New Zealand Student Ambassador Selection Programme (the Programme) were announced on 2 March at an award ceremony held at the Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau and attended by Consul-General Mr Julian Ludbrook, New Zealand Trade Commissioner Mr David Wishart and over 100 guests and representatives from supporting organisations.
A total of 36 students were given various awards and certificates as a result of their outstanding performance in the competition. Twelve of them were selected as this year's Student Ambassadors, chosen based on their performance in an interview and on their essays about the ideal eco-tour in New Zealand. They will visit New Zealand for three to six weeks this summer to attend tailor-made courses on tourism and hospitality with full grants for accommodation and travel allowances, as well as working holiday visas for winners of the Working Holiday Scheme-linked awards. U pon return to Hong Kong, they will share their New Zealand experiences with local schools at promotional activities to be organised by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE).
The Programme is an initiative of NZTE, in association with the Hong Kong Education & Manpower Bureau, Longman Hong Kong Education, Wing On Travel and various co-organisers and sponsors. Its objective is to provide local Hong Kong secondary school students with the opportunity to study and gain work experience in New Zealand.
This year's Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade in Hong Kong featured two spectacular performances from New Zealand. The annual spectacle showcases a combination of international and Chinese elements featuring an all-star cast of performers from around the world.
For the first time, the Parade featured a graceful, stunning performance by an all female group of stilt walkers, backed by a group of Samba musicians, from Wellington-based Empress Stiltdance, and a splendid performance by the Auckland-based Marching Band of the Royal New Zealand Air Force showcasing one of the Royal New Zealand Air Force's finest traditions.
The New Zealand Consulate-General is sponsoring four Asia Premiere screenings of two new New Zealand films by prominent New Zealand directors at this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival, which will be held from 20 March to 11 April. From international award-winning movies to avant-garde independent films, this major festival in March and April screens nearly 300 films from around the world.
Out of the Blue stars Karl Urban and is directed by Robert Sarkies, who also directed Scarfies. The film is based on the Aramoana Massacre that occurred over two days in 1990. A gripping and powerful story of courage and survival, the film features New Zealand music, including "Blue Smoke", by Pixie Williams & The Ruru Karaitiana Quartet, Coconut Rough's " Sierra Leone" and Th'Dudes' "Bliss".
Directed by Jonathan King, Black Sheep is a horror film made in a similar style to Peter Jackson's early slapstick films such as Bad Taste. Special effects for the film were handled by New Zealand's special effects giant, Weta Workshop. The film follows a reckless experiment in genetic engineering which turns harmless sheep into blood-thirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm. top of page
The New Zealand percussion group "STRIKE" will be performing in Hong Kong on 20, 21 and 22 April at various venues. Founded in 1993, STRIKE is a high energy drumming group made up of New Zealand's most outstanding percussionists. STRIKE combines elements of theatre, dance, invention and rhythmic intricacy to create powerful and imaginative productions.
Air New Zealand announced on 6 March that it would increase its service to Hong Kong following strong demand for the airline's new services.
The airline will introduce double daily services between Auckland and Hong Kong on Fridays and Sundays from 30 November 2007 to 2 March 2008.
Mr Donald Tsang was re-elected as Hong Kong's Chief Executive (CE) on 25 March 2007 by a vote of 649 to 123 over candidate Mr Alan Leong, with 11 of the 795 members of the CE Election Committee having cast blank ballots.
With the slogan "I'll get the job done", Mr Donald Tsang promised to introduce a more democratic constitution and to reduce taxes, especially for the middle class, and pledged to seek ways to address key public concerns, including food safety and combating air pollution. Mr Tsang also pledged to take Hong Kong's economy to the next level by strengthening its role as China's financial centre and to revive the city's infrastructure investment.
The 2007 CE Election became the first one since the handover to be contested by a pan-democratic candidate. This occurred when Mr Leong officially became qualified to contest the election after receiving 132 nominations from the CE Election Committee in late January – more than the 100 nominations required. Mr Tsang received 641 nomination votes.
Mr Alan Leong, 48, became a directly elected legislator in 2004. He is a barrister and a founding member of the Civic Party, a political group of professionals and academics established last year. He pledged to "fight for universal suffrage not later than 2012 for both the CE and Legislative Council elections ", and called for the revocation of Beijing's power to appoint the Government's principal officials.
A televised debate between CE candidates was held on 1 March. The event, attended by 530 EC members, was billed as a landmark in Hong Kong's political history. Explaining his re-election manifesto at the Forum, Mr Tsang said that the issue of constitutional development is one of the ten challenges facing Hong Kong.
Financial Secretary Mr Henry Tang unveiled his fourth budget on 28 February. Mr Tang reported that Hong Kong's GDP surged by 6.8% in 2006, higher than the 4% to 5% official forecast. Inflation was kept at 2% and unemployment was at a six-year low of 4.4% for 2006. For 2007, the GDP growth is forecast to range from 4.5 to 5.5%, and trend real GDP growth is forecast at 4.5% a year from 2008 to 2011.
The 2006/07 fiscal surplus amounted to HK$55.1 billion, against the HK$30 billion to HK$40 billion the market had expected. Public expenditure was contained at below 20% of GDP.
To promote economic growth and employment, Mr Tang proposed to build a new cruise terminal in Kai Tak to be completed in 2012, and to earmark HK$300 million to establish a new fund to help film development. Mr Tang also proposed to expedite the implementation of major infrastructure projects to create around 23,000 jobs for the construction industry in the next financial year.
The Financial Secretary also proposed allocating HK$20.3 billion for tax relief and one-off rebate measures, but avoided further narrowing of the tax base. He also announced the reduction by half of the duty rates on wine, beer and other types of liquor containing not more than 30% of alcohol to help promote the development of the catering industry, tourism and wholesale and retail alcoholic beverage trade. He also planned to earmark HK$4 billion to clean up Hong Kong's air and water to improve the business environment.
Chief Executive Mr Donald Tsang has put forward an action agenda outlining a set of strategic proposals to suggest how Hong Kong can leverage the mainland's 11th 5-year plan. The blueprint is based on 50 strategic recommendations and 207 specific measures presented by four focus groups set up during the Economic Summit held on 11 September 2006 to consider how best to develop financial, logistics, tourism and information technology industries and preserve the city's status as an international financial, trade and shipping centre. The action agenda will be submitted to the Central Government and handed over to the next term of government as a reference on economic strategy for the next five years.
Highlights of major recommendations include measures to make the best use of the Hong Kong-Mainland Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement framework and to meet the need for Hong Kong to develop further as China's international financial centre of global significance by offering a range of financial services to the mainland. According to the blueprint, Hong Kong can serve as a testing ground for the yuan's full convertibility and the Government can make it easier for overseas issuers to list in Hong Kong. Measures to raise students' language standards were also proposed, and it was suggested that a comprehensive policy and enforceable measures should be adopted to reduce air pollution.
At a press conference, Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Mr Stephen Lam reported that members of The Committee on Governance and Political Development under the Commission on Strategic Development (CSD) have narrowed their differences on the method of selecting the Chief Executive (CE) by universal suffrage and are now focusing on two possible options, but the Government has yet to take a final decision before the next meeting on 12 April. Mr Lam said that the existing Election Committee (EC) could be used as the nomination committee, but the number of members and democratic elements of the committee should be increased. As an alternative, it has been suggested at the latest CSD meeting that the 60 members of the Legislative Council be formed as a nomination committee to propose CE candidates, but Mr Lam said that the majority of the members are opposed to the second option. The CSD Committee also discussed the threshold or the number of nominations that a person would need to secure to become a valid candidate.
Macao saw tourist arrivals soar 17% yoy in 2006, with a record 22 million people spending an estimated 17 billion patacas (HK$16.3 billion) over last year. Boosted by a further relaxation of travel restrictions on the mainland, mainland Chinese tourists made up the largest group, with arrivals up 17% yoy.
Macao's 22 casinos have overtaken Las Vegas as the biggest gambling city in the world with a net annual income of 55.9 billion patacas (HK$54.3 billion) in 2006 from the gaming industry alone, up 22% yoy. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's forecast that Macao's gaming revenue is likely to show double-digit growth in 2007 with the opening of new casinos and the continuing flow of visitors, but warned that credit risks for operators remain high and ratings volatility is likely over the next few years. Some analysts forecast that revenue will hit US$10 billion by 2010.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Mr Chui Sai On warned that the next few years would pose challenges for Macao in the form of labour shortage, which could threaten to slow the current break-neck expansion of the casino sector.
Mr LAO Si Io was appointed Secretary for Transport and Public Works. Mr Lao, 52, graduated with a civil engineering degree from Calgary University in Canada and joined the Macao Government in 1984, working for the former Municipal Council. He was promoted to post of Vice-President of the Executive Committee of the Provisional Municipal Council, and was appointed President of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau when it replaced the municipal organs in 2002. He was also a member of the 2nd and 3rd Legislative Assembly Electoral Commission and the Assembly of the Environment Council.
Director of Social Welfare Mr Paul Tang will serve as Permanent Secretary for Economic Development and Labour (Labour)/Commissioner for Labour from 1 April, 2007. He will succeed Matthew Cheung, who will retire after 34 years of service.
Secretary for Economic Development and Labour Mr Stephen Ip said in a radio interview that the Government will start laying the groundwork for legislating a minimum wage before it finishes its two-year voluntary wage protection movement next year. He described the response to the movement so far as "quite good", since more than 700 firms had signed up to provide a wage not less than the median level of their industries.
Chief Executive Mr Donald Tsang said that legal groundwork for a competition law should be ready within this year. The Consumer Council has suggested in its submission under the Government's three-month consultation that any law regulating competition should empower the Government to outlaw corporate mergers or acquisitions that would hurt the public interest.
Hong Kong has topped the list of the world's freest economies for the 13th consecutive year, according to the 2007 Index of Economic Freedom released by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation. Singapore, Australia, US and NZ claimed second, third, fourth and fifth place respectively among 157 countries. The Foundation warned that a minimum wage and other policies that would impose price controls would threaten Hong Kong's position as the world's freest economy.
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Dr York Chow reported that Hong Kong has maintained a zero case record on H5N1 avian flu human infection and poultry infection in local farms since early 2003, although the virus was found on a small number of dead migratory and wild birds.
The Macao International Airport has invited Dutch consultancy NACO to develop a HK$4 billion five-year expansion proposal. According to the plan, 14 more aprons will be constructed. There will be a total of 38 aprons to process 32 flights from 24 in an hour. The passenger building will also be expanded to process at least 8 million passengers per year, from the current capacity of 6 million per year.
It was reported that the Virgin Group Chairman Sir Richard Branson met Chief Executive Mr Ho Hau-wah in Macao on 24 January to discuss a plan to invest US$3 billion to construct a casino and resort facilities including 3 hotels on 20 hectares of land, to be open in 2010.
The latest project of Macau gambling tycoon Dr Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Jogos de Macao, Grand Lisboa has opened. Located adjacent to SJM's Casino Lisboa, it is a 52-story complex with a 430-room hotel as well as a five-floor casino with 240 tables and 484 slot machines.
Table A
Indicator |
Figure |
Period |
Change |
1. Gross Domestic Product |
US$188.8 bn |
2006 |
+6.8% yoy |
2. Economic growth |
+7% |
4th Q 2006 preliminary |
|
| 3. Economic growth forecast | +4.5 to 5.5% | FY2007, revised forecast | |
4. Population |
6.91 m |
end 2006 |
+0.9% yoy |
5. Fiscal surplus |
HK$55.1 bn |
2006/07 |
preliminary |
6. Foreign currency reserves |
US$136.3 bn |
Feb 2007 |
+8.5% yoy |
7. Monetary base |
HK$308.9 bn |
Feb 2007 |
+7.4% yoy |
8. Hang Seng Index |
19 652 |
28 Feb 2007 |
+25.3% |
9. Inflation rate |
+0.8% yoy |
Feb 2007 |
- |
10. Prime interest rate |
6.75% |
Feb 2007 |
- |
11. Property Transactions |
|||
a. sales value |
HK$22.1 bn |
Jan 2007 |
+62.5% yoy |
b. no of transactions |
7,804 |
Jan 2007 |
+45.4% yoy |
12. Retail sales value |
HK$20.9 bn |
Jan 2007 |
-1.3% yoy |
13. Unemployment rate |
4.3 % |
Dec 2006-Feb 2007, (provisional) |
|
14.a. Total exports |
HK$171.4 bn |
Feb 2007 |
+11.6% yoy |
b. Total imports |
HK$178.9 bn |
Feb 2007 |
+1.3% yoy |
c. Total re-exports |
HK$165.2 bn |
Feb 2007 |
+14.6% yoy |
15. Visitor arrivals |
2.17 m |
Jan 2007 |
-1% yoy |
Table A: Latest Hong Kong Economic Indicators
(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 11, 12, 13. Hong Kong Census & Statistics Department 5,6,7. Hong Kong Monetary Authority 9. HSBC 10. Hong Kong Land Registry 14. Hong Kong Tourism Board)
Hong Kong-New Zealand Business Association Inc
Postal Address: P O Box 105-009, Central Auckland, New Zealand
Tel: +64 9 443 3337
Fax: +64 9 443 3331
Email: hknzba@clear.net.nz
Contact: Ian Herald, President
Website: www.hknzba.co.nz
New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
New Zealand Focus
2/F, Island Building
439-445 Hennessy Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2536 4469
Fax: +852 2810 9068
Contact: The Executive Officer
Website: www.nzcchk.com
Email: exec@nzcchk.com
New Zealand Society of Hong Kong
GPO Box 8817, Hong Kong
Tel: +(852) 2792 7390
Website: www.nzshk.org
Contact: Gaylene McCarroll, Membership Officer
Email: memberz@nzshk.org
HK$7.813=US$1.00 (approx)
HK$5.528=NZ$1.00 (approx)
The print version of "Hong Kong Review" is available from
New Zealand Consulate-General
6501 Central Plaza
18 Harbour Road
Wanchai, Hong Kong
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