The couple in Wanchai should not have forgotten what drew customers to their noodles in the first place. They had failed not because their customers had decided to eat sandwiches rather than noodles but because they forgot that it was quality that made the noodle shop  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  successful in the first place. Very often we become complacent and take things for granted after we have been successful, just like the Wanchai couple did. Shifting to a new product line in which we have no real expertise or niche was a recipe for disaster. The same holds true if we look at what made Hong Kong tick twenty or thirty years ago. Many good qualities such as can-do spirit, never-say-die, openness and versatility that were cherished by Hong Kong people in the past seem to have faded away. Keeping these good qualities, Hong Kong can hope to maintain its competitive edge even when the goings get rough. 10. Ladies and gentlemen, the message I have for you is: while an entrepreneur should always strive to expand and grow his business, it is equally important that he should resist complacency and continue to excel in what he is doing or what he is good at. To venture into an unfamiliar universe in which one has no expertise or advantage is risky. The market is fiercely competitive and no doubt customers’ preference may change, but the market is generally fair and always rewards quality and consistency handsomely.
I have no doubt that the quality of the discussions we have today will allow us to deepen our understanding of these challenges and, hopefully, allow us to draw some useful conclusion in terms of economic policy. I leave the floor now to Mr. Isidro González, Deputy Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, thanking him as well as you all for your presence here today, and thanking Mr. Senén Florensa, President of the Executive Committee of IEMed, for the cooperation in the organisation of this event. Now, Isidro, the floor is yours. 3/3