CP Tsang Yam-pui addresses members of 26 European chambers of commerce

Business leaders have a refreshed confidence in Hong Kong as their chosen place to do business after a briefing by Commissioner Tsang Yam-pui on March 1.

Mr Tsang gave a speech and answered queries from an assembled group of 26 European chambers of commerce attending a luncheon at the Hong Kong Club.

The dialogue focused on Hong Kong's safety as a place to live and work, and feedback from the audience was positive, with Mr Tsang reiterating that our secure status was one of the primary incentives for multinational companies to do business here.

"Although crime and other social problems do exist, Hong Kong remains a very safe place in which to live and conduct business, and the Police are committed to keeping it that way," he told the gathering.

Mr Tsang said the Force had established and maintained a clear strategy for ensuring safety and stability, mostly through a strong uniformed presence on the streets, effective and immediate response to all incidents, professional training of personnel and use of modern equipment, thorough investigations of all crime reports, development and maintenance of an effective criminal intelligence network, and comprehensive crime prevention programmes in all frontline Police Districts.

On business aspects, he told the audience: "The integrity and safety of the business environment in which you operate is of fundamental importance and business fraud is an area of concern in any commercially vibrant community. "In terms of general fraud, I am pleased to say we have emerged in good shape after several troubled years, sparked by the Asian financial crisis in 1998. The slowly-recovering economy and increased police effort have brought a welcome reduction in these crimes."

Mr Tsang said the business sector could also find solace in the Force's hindrance of forged banknote circulation, and in its preparedness to meet any potential challenges posed by global trends in computer crime.

"As public perception is very important to the Force, we have reached out through a series of periodical Public Opinion Surveys and it is pleasing to note that from these we see the vast majority are very positive about what we are doing and about Hong Kong's safety.

"However, we cannot be complacent - crime will not go away, and control of it cannot be achieved by simply throwing police resources at individual problems. That is why the Force has embarked on several new schemes aimed at making us more effective within the resources we have, such as the greater use of Information Technology and the streamlining and restructuring of our support services. This has ensured full frontline police coverage is maintained.

"The Force's close ties with the public and overseas agencies are also helping to curb crime."

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