The Facts of Hong Kong

　　Free Trade and Free Market

　　Hong Kong advocates and practices free trade - with a free and liberal investment regime, the absence of trade barriers, no discrimination against overseas investors, freedom of capital movement, a well-established rule of law, transparent regulations, and low and predictable taxation.

　　Small Government

　　Hong Kong has a small and efficient government structure. Corporate and personal taxes are low and simple to calculate. The HKSAR Government is well known for its efficiency, transparency and fairness. It is ready to lend a helping hand to business people and companies under a long-established philosophy of "maximum help and minimum interference" for business.

　　The Rule of Law

　　Hong Kong has a well-established and trusted legal system based on the common law. The rights and freedoms of Hong Kong people and those living here are founded upon the impartial rule of law, an independent judiciary, a comprehensive system of legal aid, and a free and active press.

　　Airport

　　Hong Kong is a major international and regional aviation center. Hong Kong International Airport, one of the busiest in the world, is served by major international airlines that provide about 4,900 scheduled passenger services and 700 freight services weekly from Hong Kong to 139 cities worldwide. When fully developed, the airport will be able to handle up to 87 million passengers and 9 million tons of cargo a year. Hong Kong International Airport was named the world's best airport from 2001 to 2005 in a survey conducted by British-based Skytrax Research.

　　Port

　　In 2005, Hong Kong handled 22.6 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) of containers, making it the world's second busiest container port. The nine container terminals at Kwai Chung-Tsing Yi are under the management of five operators. Covering an area of 270 hectares, the container terminals provide 24 berths with 8,530-metre frontage. The water depth of the Kwai Chung-Tsing Yi basin is 15.5 metres and the total handling capacity of the terminals is more than 18 million TEUs per year. During 2005, some 39,140 ocean-going vessels and 192,680 river trade vessels docked at Hong Kong. These vessels handled 230.1 million tons of cargo and 21.5 million passengers.