interest in its dual role as regulator and shareholder. towards the end of this presentation i shall briefly return to the question of how we intend to set about disposing of this portfolio. before i do that, i should first like to update you on the state of our economy as the painful adjustment process draws to a close and as clear signs of economic recovery emerge. i should also like to address some of the concerns – unnecessary ones, in my view – that still seem to be clouding the view of hong kong from outside. the recovery those of you who heard me in june last year may well be a little sceptical about any advice from me on the outlook for the hong kong economy. although i was under no illusion about the less prosperous times that lay ahead, like many at the time i was perhaps a little too sanguine in my assessment about the impact that the asian crisis would have on hong kong. however, the temptation now for many is to go to the other extreme : to be very cautious in making predictions about the future and to acknowledge signs of recovery only very reluctantly. this is understandable when we are still only just moving out of our sharpest recession on record. yet even the pessimists would now, i think, acknowledge that the storm signals are down, the clouds are thinning out, and there are shafts of sunlight in the distance. i speak only metaphorically, of course. as those of you who have been in hong kong recently will know, this has been a very stormy summer from a meteorological point of view : we have just had the worst typhoon in sixteen years and the wettest typhoon since records began more than a hundred years ago. economically, the most recent figures suggest that our wet and windy summer has brought with it a distinct turn for the better. chart 1 gross domestic product ( % ) - 2 - 4 year - on - year change - 6 quarter - on - quarter change, seasonally adjusted - 8 q1 / q2 q3 q4 q1 / q2 q3 q4 q1 / q2 q3 q4 q1 / q2 • gdp – a rebound in the second quarter ( in excess of 3 %, quarter on quarter ) after six consecutive quarterly declines ( chart 1 ) chart 2 external trade ( hk $ bn ) ( % yoy ) overall trade balance imports of goods exports of goods - 5 - 7 - 10 - 14 - 15 - 21 - 20 - 28 - 25 - 35

, cooperation and knowledge exchange. today we have the presence of 300 leaders from various sectors including finance, architecture, building and construction engineering, project management and consulting, project development and operation as well as professional services, many of you being the senior management of your leading organisations in the field. indeed, hong kong possesses a critical mass of financial professionals which can support the operations of aiib in areas such as project financing, bond issuance, investment, financial management and foreign exchange management. moreover, hong kong has expertise in project negotiation, works contracts preparation and management, international law as well as professional arbitration services, enabling us to take part in the planning, implementation and operation of such projects. the steadfast implementation of the belt and road initiative also creates opportunities for hong kong to make best use of its strengths as the global offshore rmb business hub and an aspiring infrastructure investment and financing platform. the setting up of iffo would provide a platform for pooling the efforts of investors, banks and the financial sector to offer comprehensive financial services for various infrastructure projects. 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches since the launch of iffo by the hkma in july 2016, work has progressed very quickly and significant progress has been made on all fronts. just last week, our list of partners expanded from 41 to 54, bringing in new additions from the insurance, banking and legal sectors, as well as international business council and corporation which are experts in the infrastructure development field. iffo is also an active participant at various industry forums promoting the use of hong kong ’ s platform for infrastructure investments and financing both locally and overseas. this morning, president jin will share with us his views on aiib ’ s operations, project planning and management. this seminar will be a useful platform for constructive dialogues among the financial industry, infrastructure - related business sectors, and aiib, to exchange views on the latest infrastructural development trends, and how we can harness the opportunities arising from the establishment and projects under aiib. i shall now hand over the time to president jin for his most anticipated speech. thank you. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches