Sharing session: Financial Secretary John Tsang speaks with Singaporean Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Financial Secretary John Tsang has held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Singapore and Brunei at the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in Singapore.

Mr Tsang today exchanged views with Singaporean Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on their governments' response to the global financial crisis. They agreed it would be premature to withdraw the measures before economic recovery is firmly in place and exit strategies carefully worked out.

Mr Tsang then briefed Brunei's Second Finance Minister Pehin Dato Abd Rahman on Hong Kong's plans to develop a platform for Islamic finance. Brunei expressed an interest in concluding a Comprehensive Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement with Hong Kong. It is also interested in working out a joint exit strategy for the 100% deposit protection schemes introduced in the region's economies during the global financial crisis.

Mr Tsang will meet Singaporean Foreign Secretary George Yeo tomorrow before participating in the APEC Finance Ministers' Retreat and two plenary sessions.