A senior financial official said Monday that considerable increase in China’s mainland business possibly resulting from its prospective entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) will eventually boost Hong Kong's economy.

Joseph Yam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, made the remarks at a conference on globalization.

"Our estimates within the authority suggest that our re-export trade, involving the movement of goods to and from the mainland through Hong Kong, will be considerably boosted, and should raise our annual GDP growth rate by somewhere between 0.5 percent and one percent," Yam said.

According to Yam, the stimulus to liberalization, globalization and better corporate governance will expand and deepen Hong Kong's well-established role as a fund of professional expertise, a center of international experience, and a source and channel of investment.

Yam noted that Hong Kong's banking sector, with its strong reputation and long involvement in mainland business, stands to benefit greatly from the liberalization in this area, providing that it can position itself to make the best out of the opportunities.

"As the largest source of foreign direct investment in the mainland, and as China's main financial conduit and funding center, Hong Kong will stand to benefit considerably from the increased demand for banking services in China," he stressed.

In the monetary sphere, the various predictions about the future development of the Renminbi in the light of WTO membership would most likely have positive implications for Hong Kong's economy as a whole, Yam concluded.

(People’s Daily)