SFST Starts His First SE Asian Visit (25

Press Release

SFST starts his first SE Asian visit Tuesday, May 25, 2004

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Frederick Ma, today (May 25) had a busy start to his first official visit to Southeast Asia with seven meetings in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The week-long visit covers Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Mr Ma's programme on the first day included meetings with leading figures of the financial services and business sectors, government officials and the media, as well as visits to the Jarkata Stock Exchange and Indonesia's central bank.

During the meetings, Mr Ma updated them on the latest developments in Hong Kong, particularly in the area of financial services. He highlighted the strengths of Hong Kong as an international financial centre and the premier capital formation centre for the Mainland.

Mr Ma briefed Indonesia's Minister of Finance, Dr Boediono, on Hong Kong's efforts in the development of the bond market, including the recent successful offering of securitisation bonds backed by the revenues of government tolled tunnels and bridges as well as the Government's plan to issue bonds in the next few months.

At the meeting with members of the Indonesian Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Mr Ma also introduced to them Hong Kong's Capital Investment Entrant Scheme. Launched last October, the scheme aims at attracting those who are able to make substantial investment but do not intend to run the businesses themselves under the scheme to make capital investment in Hong Kong. Anyone who invests in net assets of not less than HK$6.5 million in specified financial assets and/or real estate is eligible for admission into Hong Kong as a capital investment entrant.

In the afternoon, Mr Ma visited Jakarta Stock Exchange where he was received by the Stock Exchange's President Director, Mr Erry Firmansyah. Mr Ma also called on the Governor of Bank Indonesia, the country's Central Bank, Mr Burhanuddin Abdullah.

Tomorrow, Mr Ma will visit the Association of Indonesian Private Banks before flying to Singapore where he will meet with business executives in Singapore and Committee Members of Hong Kong Singapore Business Association.