Hong Kong's increasing mainland focus should not be at the expense of losing the territory's international business perspective, according to Director-General of Industry Francis Ho. 'Looking towards China is important, however we need to make sure we don't forget to look outwards as well,' he said. 'We need to maintain our international links especially around the region and Asia.' Mr Ho said a good example was the use of language. 'We need to make sure use of English does not wane. It is the language of international business and we need to have continuing bilingual skills,' he said. Mr Ho, who has been director-general for six months, said he had no strong vision about how he wanted his department to progress after the handover and so-far the chief executive-designate Tung Chee-hwa had not indicated there would be any great change in its role. Although Mr Tung is looked upon as being pro-business, Mr Ho said that did not necessarily mean the industry department could look forward to extra funds.