Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this Symposium generally and in particular those distinguished speakers from Australia, Korea, Singapore, the UK and Hong Kong.

The subject matter to be reported on and presented are all focused on the new developments and research results on the state-of-the-art on Cold-formed Steel Structural Elements which will, without a doubt, benefit the region and everyone present.

I am also absolutely delighted to witness the birth of this technical platform of 'Cold-formed Metal Building Product Industry' in this region. This is a timely move because of the recent phenomenal developments of Cold-formed Metal Building Components in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region.

This Symposium is first of its kind in Asia, but in the States, there is a long established conference entitled 'Cold-formed Steel Specialty Conference' which has been running for upwards of 35 years as the technical platform for the multi-billion dollar industry of Cold-formed Steel Building Components.

I have from very reliable sources that this Symposium is likely to be held in Hong Kong every other year.

On behalf of the organizers, I would like to thank the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Hong Kong Institute of Steel Construction for supporting this event.

I would also like to personally thank Prof. K F Chung and his colleagues for making this Symposium possible. May I wish every speaker and every delegate a successful symposium, and for those from overseas, have an enjoyable stay in Hong Kong.

Thank you.

Ir Professor Fred S H Ng

Institutional Representative for Hong Kong,
The Institution of Structural Engineers, U.K.
Adjunct Professor for The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
and the University of Hong Kong