As Hong Kong enters into the new millennium, the Trading Fund has a role to play in meeting one of its immediate challenges - to provide Y2K testing and rectification services for all embedded microprocessor chips in clients' equipment. Effective rectification will ensure that clients' businesses are not adversely affected in the transition to the 21st century. Rectification work is in good progress and on schedule. We also provide Y2K advisory and consultancy services free-of-charge, a prime example of our ability to provide value-added services to our customers. On a territory-wide level, we play a role in the Government's Steering Committee on Y2K, which is spearheaded by the Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau.

The new millennium brings further opportunities. Higher awareness of health and sustainable development may well translate into new business opportunities for the Trading Fund. Obvious areas are energy efficiency consultancy and improvement services, and indoor air quality improvement programmes. Our experience and expertise are probably unrivaled in Hong Kong, and there is great potential in these areas not only for business growth, but also for improving Hong Kong's overall quality of life.

First Government Body to Win Major Productivity Award

The Trading Fund won a major recognition for its productivity achievements in the year under review. We are the first government body to win the prestigious Hong Kong Award for Services - Productivity Category 1998, jointly organised by the Hong Kong Coalition of Services and the Hong Kong Productivity Council. Among the winners are some of the top blue-chip companies in Hong Kong and international brand names. We should all be very proud of this achievement.

The success of the Trading Fund represents the collective effort of all business divisions as well as those divisions providing corporate services - business development, administration, staff relations and management, finance and supplies.

As a result of their hard work and creativity, we are enhancing customer and employee satisfaction as well as making continuous improvements in our information technology, cost and finance systems. Without their commitment, it would not have been possible for the Trading Fund to have achieved so much in its regionalisation and reorganisation programme, its systematic marketing, service level agreement improvements, as well as smooth progress towards our overall corporate ISO-9000 certification scheduled before the turn of the century.