Hectic schedule: Financial Secretary Henry Tang speaks at a ceremony to mark the closing of a WTO training programme for lawyers Saturday. He will fly to the US to attend meetings next week.

Financial Secretary Henry Tang will leave Hong Kong on September 20 to attend the World Bank Group & International Monetary Fund 2005 Annual Meetings in the US.

Mr Tang will attend the plenary session of the World Bank and IMF meeting on September 24 in Washington, DC. He will also make use of the opportunity to meet finance ministers and central bankers of other economies to exchange views on global and regional economic development.

During his stay in Washington, Mr Tang will attend a lunch hosted by the Hong Kong Commissioner for Economic & Trade Affairs in the US, Jacqueline Willis, updating representatives from think-tanks, the business community and the administration on Hong Kong's latest economic development.

Before going to Washington, Mr Tang will also visit New York, where he will have meetings with senior executives in the US financial sector, including the New York Federal Reserve Bank, credit-rating agencies and the financial news media.

Mr Tang will return to Hong Kong on September 28. During his absence, Secretary for Commerce, Industry & Technology John Tsang will act as Financial Secretary.