May 01, 1999	atimes.com

China Hong Kong economic confidence improving: govt. HONG KONG - Despite the difficult times, public confidence in the economy has begun to improve in recent weeks. Financial Secretary Donald Tsang made the comments at a media session after chairing the Task Force on Employment meeting on Thursday. The easing in bank liquidity and interest rates, the stabilization of share and property prices, the tax rebate, other measures in the budget and the results of the recent land sales have all contributed to better economic sentiment, he said. Whether this improvement is sustainable remains to be seen. At the eleventh meeting of the Task Force on Employment, members were informed that the number of tourist arrivals in the first three months of 1999 was about 2.47 million, representing an increase of around 13.4 per cent compared with the same period in 1998. This followed a 7.5 per cent recovery in the second half of 1998 over the same period in 1997. At the same time, hotel occupancy rate levels picked up from 67 per cent in January 1998 to 81 per cent in March 1999. ''A whole series of initiatives aimed at promoting Hong Kong to visitors and enhancing Hong Kong's attractiveness has been planned and will be actively pursued. These should translate into more job opportunities in the industry,'' Tsang said. Examples of such initiatives include the construction of an International Wetland Park in northern Tin Shui Wai area, the granting of $500 million to Ocean Park to redevelop its lowland area and the launch of the Quality Tourism Services Scheme. The government is also planning a world-class, state-of-the-art new performance venue on the West Kowloon Reclamation, and is conducting a feasibility study on a possible fisherman's wharf at Aberdeen. ''As regards the capital market, small and medium enterprises should find it easier to secure bank loans to tide over the temporary liquidity problems as a result of improvement measures to the Special Finance Scheme,'' Tsang said. Following a review of the scheme, the government will revise, as from early May, the risk-sharing ratio between itself and the lending institutions from the present 50:50 split to 70:30, and will extend the maximum guarantee period from one year to two years. The meeting was also informed that the major infrastructure projects to be carried out over the next two years, including railway development and public works projects, would generate an increasing demand for on-site construction workers. An additional 16,300 and 8,500 workers will be required for the years 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 respectively. The government will work closely with the training bodies to ensure that training services are geared up to meet the demands of the construction industry. The Labor Department's efforts to improve its employment services have achieved encouraging results, the meeting was told. In March, the Department secured 13,000 job vacancies, an increase of 93 per cent over the number secured in February. The number of successful placements had also exceeded 3,500. With the strengthening of the domestic helper employment service, the Labor Department secured 544 domestic helper vacancies and made 160 placements in March, which doubled and tripled the respective numbers in February. ''The hi-tech Interactive Employment Service (iES) launched on March 11, 1999, has received overwhelming support from both employers and job-seekers. The Laboor Department is now able to assist a wider spectrum and a greater number of job-seekers, including those at the higher end of the job market,'' Tsang said. The iES boasts the largest data bank of both jobs and job-seekers in Hong Kong, comprising about 90,000 job-seekers and 12,000 job vacancies. By the end of March, more than 33,000 visitors had visited the site. The Labor Department is now consulting major employer associations and professional bodies on how to promote and make the best use of this powerful employment service tool. In response to market demand, the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) is expanding its placement-tied tailor-made training programmes to train information technology assistants, shoe-making workers and personal care workers for elderly homes. It is also planning new courses for Chinese medicine dispensers and certificate programmes on China trade. The Vocational Training Council will offer courses in September 1999 for those Form Five school leavers who cannot gain employment and who do not satisfy the entry qualifications for further study. (Asia Pulse)

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