Hong Kong's Tung Appoints New Financial Secretary

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

06 August 2003

Hong Kong's Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa has appointed former Commerce Secretary and textile industrialist Henry Tang to the post of Finance Secretary, following the resignation of Antony Leung last month.

Tang will have to get to grips with some difficult economic circumstances including high unemployment, slow growth, a property price slump and a budget deficit estimated to reach US$9 billion next year.

His appointment has received a mixed reception from observers, and Allen Choate, Hong Kong representative of the Asia Foundation think tank, who believes that taxes will have to be raised, doubts whether Tang is up to the job. "Nothing I'm aware of shows that he has the technical and substantive content for incorporating and making some hard decisions," Bloomberg quoted Choate as observing.

Meanwhile, K C Chan, Dean of the School of Business Management at the University of Science and Technology was more supportive of the Chief Executive's decision. "Because he (Tang) has been in Exco for 5 years, he's involved in the making of policies for the past 5 years. Investors are not surprised by his appointment, he would continue Antony Leung's policy, but with some fine-tuning," Chan told Channel News Asia.

Tung has also filled the other vacant spot in his cabinet, with Ambrose Lee stepping up to the position of Security Secretary. He replaces Regina Ip, who left the government in the wake of the mass demonstrations against the anti-subversion bill.

"I can assure you that after I've assumed my post, I will handle the matter with care and listen to people's views," the incoming Security Secretary pledged.

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