A planned visit by some of the great and the good of Hong Kong to Southeast Asian business centres to promote the territory as the services hub of Asia is probably a total waste of money.
Going on this Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC) jolly to Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur is our bow-tied financial secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen.
The high-level mission will hit these cities between May 15 and May 21 with seminars, talks and no doubt loads of noshing.
Rather condescendingly, TDC services promotion assistant director Alan Wong suggests the message to be preached in Southeast Asia will be the promotion of Hong Kong as a prime source of international services. 'Many of these countries don't have such services but they need them urgently,' he said.
Wonder how Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kwan Yew feels about this.
This is the first roadshow since the TDC unveiled a 10-point, $40 million plan to raise the profile of the territory as a hub for services.
