Tsang gives Gordon Brown a few tips on financial intervention
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was given a lesson by a former colonial subject when Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen briefed him on Hong Kong's experience after government intervention in the markets.
During a trip to London, Mr Tsang also urged Hong Kong enterprises to honour their social responsibilities amid sackings and restructuring as a result of the economic downturn.
'I really hope each enterprise will have social responsibility and consider the interest of employees,' he said, adding that steps should be taken to ensure that workers were not hurt too much. He said government infrastructure projects were being speeded up to create jobs.
During a 30-minute meeting on Tuesday, Mr Tsang told Mr Brown how Hong Kong had successfully disposed of the billions of dollars' worth of shares the government had bought in 1998 during the Asian financial crisis, scaring off international speculators and stabilising the Hong Kong market. Mr Tsang was financial secretary at the time.
The government was able to begin selling those shares with the launch of the Hong Kong Tracker Fund the following year.
A source close to the meeting said Mr Tsang shared the Hong Kong experience with Mr Brown because it was an effective way to minimise disruption to the markets after government intervention.
The British government is facing potential problems with state holdings in the private sector after Mr Brown's #400 billion (HK$4.65 trillion) rescue plan last month to save several British banks.
A Hong Kong government statement said the meeting agreed that Britain and Hong Kong must both play a major role in addressing the financial crisis, with stepped up co-operation between regulators.
At a separate function, British Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, said the British government was following the debate on the introduction of universal suffrage in Hong Kong and hoped for further progress in democratisation.
Mr Tsang heads for Lima, Peru, today to attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum summit meeting.
