Delivering the 2003/04 financial budget Wednesday, Financial Secretary Antony Leung said that the government is implementing measures in five areas, namely adhering to "big market, small government" concept, building Hong Kong into a regional metropolis, developing human resources and infrastructure, enhancing core industries and increasing employment opportunities.

Leung quoted the SAR's Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa as saying in the latter's policy address that "big market, small government? is the "underlying principle of the Administration's philosophy of governance."

The government must continue to support the market by means of policy-making instead of participating in it directly, Leung said, citing the introduction of a new housing policy as an example.

He said that the government has clearly stated the three approaches to be adopted, namely reprioritizing the provision of services, reorganizing the structure of government departments, reengineering procedures and making full use of the market, so as to optimize resources and provide better services for the public.

Regarding building Hong Kong into a regional metropolis, Leung noted that the SAR government has, in recent years, intensified its cooperation with the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in the Chinese mainland, and will continue to improve facilities at its boundary crossings and construct new cross-boundary links with the Chinese mainland.

He disclosed that to attract more overseas companies to invest in the Greater PRD and to set up offices in Hong Kong, the government will provide additional funding of 200 million HK dollars (US$25.6 million) over the coming five years for promotional activities.

Speaking about developing human resources and infrastructure, the financial secretary pointed out that the government will set up a fund of one billion HK dollars (US$128 million) to award matching grants to universities which succeed in securing private donations for purposes other than the construction of campus buildings.

Besides training local people, "We will seek to attract more foreign talent to Hong Kong," with the population policy the government announced a week ago with proposals to ease restrictions on the entry of mainland professionals and to expand the scope for investment immigration.

As for the infrastructure sector, the financial secretary said the average annual provision earmarked for infrastructure works is about 29 billion HK dollars (US$3.7 billion) over the next five years.

Moreover, the government will introduce about 10 recreational and cultural facilities projects worth about 2.5 billion HK dollars (US$320 million) for private sector participation on a trial basis.

Turning to the core industries in Hong Kong, Leung said these industries, namely financial services, logistics, tourism as well as producer and professional services, possess a considerable competitive edge in quality, creativity and speed, and Hong Kong must excel in these aspects in order to stay competitive.

In this connection, he said, as the economic development of the Chinese mainland continues, the producer and professional services of Hong Kong will have ample further opportunities.

In addition, the government will support the creative and high-tech industries in Hong Kong, citing the local film industry and the Science Park as two respective examples.

With a view to increasing employment opportunities, the SAR government will continue to promote industries which can provide jobs for those with comparatively low educational qualifications and skills, and reinforce various vocational programs, the financial secretary said.

Moreover, the government will provide additional non-recurrent funding of 270 million HK dollars (US$$28.2 million) to ease unemployment, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2003)