Busy Tung has to skip first round

Soccer fan Tung Chee-hwa has had to miss out on World Cup fever - at least for the time being.

The Chief Executive, a Liverpool fan, said he was skipping the first round of matches in the tournament.

'I have no time for them. After all, the matches in the first round are not that exciting,' he said during a walk in a Melbourne park yesterday. 'I will watch the matches in the second round.' He was on the second leg of his Australian visit yesterday delivering a message of confidence in Hong Kong's economic future.

With a schedule packed with official meetings and business engagements, Mr Tung, 61, confessed he had had to make time for some extra sleep so catching up on the early matches was taking a back seat.