by Li Wen

    KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office and Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in Malaysia on Thursday.

    It has been 10 years since Hong Kong return to the motherland of China on July 1, 1997 and the city has grown stronger and stronger.

    "Right from the first day of the returning, there was a huge amount of interest in how Hong Kong would change. Today, I am pleased to say we have retained the top spot as the 'World's Freest Economy' for the past 13 consecutive years," said Augustine Lee, deputy director of Singapore office of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office.

    "Put it simple, from 1997 to now, the numbers are overwhelmingly up. For example, our total external trade almost doubled from 372.3 billion U.S. dollars to 641.8 billion U.S. dollars. Our gross domestic product per capita has also increased to 27,600 U.S. dollars," Lee said at the HK Pavilion Press Conference.

    "In fact, Hong Kong is now enjoying entrenched economic growth. We now have the world's 8th largest stock market by capitalization with market capital four times greater than it was in 1997. We are also the world's 11th largest trading economy, and remain Asia's most popular city for foreign companies as the number of foreign-owned regional offices and headquarters has risen by over 50 percent to more than 3,800," he said.

    In terms of tourism accolades, Hong Kong has placed itself as an international destination for travelers worldwide.

    In 2006, total visitor arrivals to Hong Kong reached an all time high of 25.25 million, or an 8.1 percent yearly increase. The total tourism spending has also grown by 12.7 percent to 119.43 billion Hong Kong dollars (15.27 billion U.S. dollars), with all markets recording increases in total and per capita spending.

    "The growth momentum keeps up in 2007. From January to April, Hong Kong has already received more than 8.79 million visitors arrivals, a 5.3 percent increase compared with the same period of 2006. For the South and Southeast Asia region, the cumulative arrivals for the first four months exceeded 800,000, a 3.9 percent increase to 2006. The best performing markets include the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, all registered with double-digit increases in April," said David Leung, regional director of South and South East Asia of HKTB.

    Karen Mok, the famous Hong Kong movie star and singer, was also present at the celebration.

    She told Xinhua that before the returning to the motherland, Hong Kong stars might only pay attention to the local market. However, they had more chances to cooperate with the mainland in the past 10 years, which helped them promote themselves.

    Mr. Cinema, a film Mok took part in, reflects the returning of Hong Kong to the motherland and is being shown in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.

    To further enhance tourism efforts in conjunction with the HKSAR 10th Anniversary celebration, the HKTB will set up the HK Pavilion at the Greatest Tourism Carnival 07 from June 22-24 at Putra World Trade Center in Malaysia.