Hong Kong's economic performance was excellent last year with a GDP growth of 6.3%. The importance and contribution of our electronics and information and communications technology, or ICT, industries towards this should not be underestimated.

Last year the electronics industry accounted for nearly half of Hong Kong's total exports. The ICT industry is also one of the vibrant industries in Hong Kong, with over 9,000 companies employing about 75,000 talented practitioners, contributing approximately $50 billion to our GDP. There is no doubt that these two industries have underpinned Hong Kong's economic success over the years.

With a view to advancing Hong Kong's achievements and seizing new opportunities, I announced the 2008 Digital 21 Strategy last December. Two of the key action areas of the strategy are to promote advanced technology and innovation, and to develop Hong Kong as a hub for technological cooperation and trade.

Through a wide range of initiatives and programmes, we will ensure the continued presence of a conducive business environment for the electronics and ICT industries, and to fortify their contribution to Hong Kong's economy.

We spare no effort to harness technology in strengthening Hong Kong's position as a regional test-bed and launching pad of innovative technologies. To further the Government's support for research and development activities, we will set aside $18 billion to establish a Research Endowment Fund. Our Science Park and Cyberport will continue to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure to groom strategic clusters of electronics and ICT firms and talent.

The Government has also been promoting key technologies to encourage innovative products and services. The launch of digital terrestrial television last December and the future introduction of mobile television services give further impetus to the creation and exchange of digital content and information.

We believe the emergence of these new distribution platforms will generate a new horizon of business opportunities for the electronics and ICT industries.

Hong Kong is a frictionless two-way springboard. We are well placed to serve as an ideal platform for enterprises from overseas to go into the Mainland and for Mainland enterprises to go global.

With the joint development projects such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and the Lok Ma Chau Loop area, our relationship with the Mainland will be strengthened further.

To harness Hong Kong's role in bridging the Mainland to the international market, we have worked with Mainland authorities and Guangdong Province in innovation, technological development and informatisation under the National 11th Five-Year Plan.

We have established closer cooperation with Shenzhen through the "Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation Circle", a platform for exchanges in expertise, information and resources to promote collaboration between R&D institutions.

We will also seek to increase Hong Kong's participation in the Mainland's technology development plans and the formulation of national standards through the Mainland/Hong Kong Science & Technology Cooperation Committee.

Hong Kong's physical connectivity with Guangdong and beyond has created enormous opportunity for local, Mainland and overseas electronics and ICT enterprises. Today, I invite Mainland and overseas enterprises to join with our local industries to take advantage of this golden opportunity, leveraging Hong Kong's position as a two-way platform, to bring in foreign investment and expand your businesses.

Through the four-day fairs, conferences and seminars, I believe you will be able to share and exchange views on developments and opportunities on this front. As George Bernard Shaw has said: "If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas."

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Frederick Ma gave this address at the joint opening ceremony of the Electronics Fair 2008 (Spring Edition) and the International ICT Expo 2008.