We are upgrading technology, and instituting regulatory and structural reforms, including the demutualisation, merger and listing of exchanges and clearing houses. With all that, out economy is probably the most open and externally oriented in the world, with a trade to GDP ratio of 250 per cent. The Heritage Foundation consistently rates Hong Kong as the world's freest economy. In July this year the World Economic Forum ranked us as the third-most competitive economy after Singapore and the United States. This is all so far, so good - but not quite good enough.
Economic success has to be built on open and competitive markets.
You have found the opportunities for accelerated growth through your membership of the European Union, and I am impressed by how high Ireland stands in the European growth league. I also admire the way that Ireland has attracted so many leading computing and IT multinationals to set up plants here. A recent Fortune magazine report intrigued me with its view that Ireland can now benefit from its history by leaping into a clean, green, high-technology future without having to clean up the residue of a heavily industrialised past. Many other parts of the world, especially across Europe, face that potentially ruinous cost, while Ireland makes a clean jump from the potato to the chip. I was shown a very interesting example of what is happening in our visit to Digital Park yesterday.