Six major events, including a pop concert by an internationally acclaimed artist Celine Dion are planned to be held in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office of the SAR Government in Canada, Mr. Donald Tong said today.

The concert by Celine Dion, a Canadian, whose hit song from the Titanic is being played in Hong Kong's cellular phones, will give one performance in the SAR on Jan. 25, 1999. It will be her second performance in Asia.

The events also include an international powerboat racing weekend in November 1999, and an exhibition of 300 pieces of priceless treasures from Moscow's Kremlin Museum in the summer of 1999. These treasures will be displayed in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia for the first time.

Mr. Tong pointed out that the International Events Fund (IEF) approved the six events out of a total of 20 applications submitted.

"The IEF is a C$20 million five-year loan fund provided to the Hong Kong Tourist Association earlier this year by the SAR Government to assist in the promotion and positioning of Hong Kong as the Events Capital of Asia," Mr. Tong said.

"Events considered for assistance by the fund include those in such categories as sport, art and culture, entertainment, exhibitions, conventions, food-related festivals and other tourism related events."

The IEF is intended to assist event organisers to overcome various specific problems, such a high up-front costs, that are common in presenting international events in Hong Kong. Its main purpose is, therefore, to provide short-term funding to the organisers of commercially-sound, top-quality, international events that might otherwise have difficulties in obtaining capital from commercial sources. All the events approved by the IEF must additionally have the potential to attract visitors to Hong Kong.

The Fund is designed to support about 50 events over the five-year term of the loan. Any event organiser planning to bring to, or create in, Hong Kong an international event that meets the IEF criteria can apply to the Committee for funding.

The IEF Steering Committee comprises 14 members whose collective experience in the events business is unrivalled in Hong Kong. The Committee is supported by the Hong Kong Tourist Association.

For further information please contact Chief Information Officer, Frank Chuan, at telephone no. (416) 924-5544.