These measures should contribute to supporting the positive trend in private domestic and foreign investment in France. [Slide 12] All these reforms should be enhanced by further progresses made by the French government to improve the sustainability of public finances; I would also hope for an acceleration in this respect. Nevertheless, the present package is already impressive, and reinforces the attractiveness of France. As you know, France has many assets: it has many fast-growing techfirms. It offers high-quality infrastructures and a high-standard quality of life. But more importantly, its capital, Paris, besides being one of the most attractive cities in Europe, is in a strong position to become the main euro area centre for market activities, especially in the Brexit context. 3. Paris’ attractiveness as an integrated financial centre in a post-Brexit world Brexit was and remains bad news mostly for the United Kingdom but also for Europe. As for now, there is one principle which in our view is the corner stone of the future agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom – preserving the integrity of our common good, the EU single market. In practice, it means that we cannot separate access and rules and that UK based entities cannot get a European passport and access the EU single market if they do not fully comply with the single market’s rules and do not recognise the authority of the European Court of Justice.
Joseph Yam: A broad-brush economic picture of the Asia-Pacific region Opening remarks by Mr Joseph Yam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, at the 2003 Australasian Macroeconomics Workshop, Hong Kong, 22 September 2003. *  *  *  Good Morning, It is a great pleasure for me to open the 2003 Australasian Macroeconomics Workshop and to welcome all of you to Hong Kong. I understand that this is the eighth time the workshop is being held, and that it is the first time you are meeting outside of Australia and New Zealand. I am delighted that you have chosen Hong Kong. We are now, I hope, entering a period of optimism for our city after a very tough few months, and there are continuing structural adjustments in Hong Kong arising from the economic integration with the Mainland, which is growing rapidly, bringing challenges as well as opportunities: it is a very interesting time to see Hong Kong. It may surprise you that the HKIMR decided to follow the splendid precedent set by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in 2002 and host this year’s workshop. But it should not be too much of a surprise. Rather than giving a traditional lecture this morning, let me explain to you why, as Chairman of the Board of the HKIMR, I feel that conferences such as this are so important.