Containment of the spreading of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is the most effective measure and the No.1 task in revitalizing the economy, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Antony Leung said Saturday.

Leung made the remarks after the first meeting of the Economic Relaunch Strategy Group Saturday morning, which is comprised of representatives from the business community, from the academics as well as from the think tanks.

The financial secretary noted that the work of the strategy group right now is to engage in the preparatory work to establish a plan for relaunching the Hong Kong economy when the disease is contained.

Leung said that they reached consensus during the first meeting that the strategy group clearly recognizes and agrees that there are really three phases in this exercise, namely crisis management, reassurance and recovery.

If they do not handle the response phase which is right now and the reassurance phase well, the efforts to relaunch and to recover Hong Kong would be very difficult, he said.

"And a premature relaunching of the Hong Kong economy and those marketing and promoting efforts would not have the effects if we do not go through and handle the response and reassurance phases well," he noted.

(Xinhua News Agency May 11, 2003)