【明報專訊】HONG KONG'S economy might seem vibrant, there is in fact a lot of cause for worry. This has once again been confirmed by the Global Competitiveness Report published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland. On the surface of it, Hong Kong is performing very well, as it has once again topped the list as the most competitive economy in the world. But a closer look at the breakdown reveals that the Hong Kong economy is strong on the outside only, with signs of weakness lurking underneath. Its backwardness in innovation and technology is particularly giving cause for concern. While Hong Kong, as shown by the report, is obviously unprepared for the transformation and competition presented by innovation and technology, Singapore is forging ahead with its spectacular performance in this field and is ranked once again as one of the three economies with the greatest overall competitiveness. If Hong Kong does not speed up its pursuit of the new trend, the decline of its long-term competitiveness might be inescapable.