The attack by David Eldon, the head of Hong Kong's powerful General Chamber of Commerce, came as the city's political leader was accused of trivialising the pollution problem in a speech that sought to deflect attention from the issue.

Eldon, a former HSBC chairman, criticised business leaders after revealing that just 500 firms out of a possible 300,000 had endorsed a voluntary Clean Air Charter, which encourages companies to commit to reducing their own emissions.

"There is a complacency on environmental issues (among Hong Kong companies)," Eldon told a forum on business involvement in the environment.

"It's up to the business community to make sure something happens," he added. "We need a lot more than 500 signatories."

The charter scheme is aimed primarily at the 70,000-80,000 businesses that own factories in southern China, from which most of Hong Kong's pollution originates.

Eldon, however, pointed out that of those that had so far signed, 80 percent had no manufacturing operations.

"We've got to find a way in which we can get companies to report on their environmental progress," he said. "We should be insisting they put it into their reports -- insisting they have real answers."

Pollution in Hong Kong has worsened dramatically in the past few years as emissions from neighbouring southern China's heavily industrialised Pearl River Delta Region have risen.

The city, China's wealthiest, takes the brunt of the smog each day as it blows in on prevailing winds, reducing visibility on more than 50 days last year, according to official figures.

The deteriorating air quality is increasingly being seen as a very political public health matter, as asthma and other cases of respiratory illnesses rise.

It has also become a major economic concern as businesses warn they are likely to suffer a shortage of executives as expatriates refuse to be stationed in a city that is increasingly being perceived as a health risk.

Leading chambers of commerce have already said their members have been affected by this trend and Ronald Arculli, a member of the government's cabinet, last week became the first official to publicly accept there was an urgent problem.

Despite government pledges to tackle air pollution in tandem with authorities in China, little concrete has been done.

Eldon's comments provoked critics, who said Hong Kong's businesses not only lacked social responsibility but were missing a golden business opportunity by ignoring the roles they could play in cleaning the air.

"There is money to be made from cutting emissions and Hong Kong companies are simply not seeing it," said Annelise Connell, chairman of environmental pressure group Clear the Air.

Under-fire political leader Donald Tsang defensively told the forum that the city's pollution problem needed to be put "in perspective".

"While we have anecdotal stories that some businessmen are quitting Hong Kong, there is also ample evidence that foreign talent and investment continue to flow into our city in much greater numbers than those who leave," Tsang said.

He claimed that while Hong Kong was not as clean as the polar regions, it faired well against places like Tokyo and Los Angeles.

His comments angered critics. "I'm a bit shocked ... it's trivialising the issue," said Paul Zimmerman, who leads a vocal campaign to preserve Hong Kong's harbour from reclamation.

"It's a pity that today, when he had an opportunity to really stand up, he again made these obnoxious comments," Zimmerman told RTHK radio.

"Clear air does not necessarily mean clean air," added Edgar Chang, the vice chairman of the Council for Sustainable Development, explaining that Hong Kong is subject to invisible but dangerous pollutants called volatile organic compounds, often produced by industry.

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