The newly-released "Economic Freedom of the World: 2004 Annual Report" said Hong Kong remains the world's freest economy.

A government press release quoted Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Henry Tang as saying that Hong Kong has been topping the world's freest economy list since the index of economic freedom was first published in 1996.

Welcoming the report, Tang said that a free market economy is the bedrock of Hong Kong's success, adding that the Hong Kong government will continue to create the best possible environment for business and to facilitate the market's operation and promote its development.

The report was published by the Cato Institute of the United States in conjunction with the Fraser Institute of Canada and some 57 other research institutes around the world. It compared the level of economic freedom in 123 economies.

Apart from the overall top ranking, Hong Kong also ranks first in "size of government," "freedom to trade internationally," and "regulation of credit, labor and business."