FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW
49
MARCH 12. 1970
1
Peso's persisting problems... India budgets for growth... Nepal wants UN-built roads... Brunei looks beyond oil... Outlook for jade
Memo
EUROPE'S GROWING INTEREST/
IN PACT WITH JAPAN
THE recent visit to Tokyo of Mr Jean Deniau, member of the European Co- mission who looks after trade policy, was something of a victory for another Com- mon Market institution, the European Parliament Since 1963 the Parliament, whose members are drawn from the six national legislatures, has been backing the Commission's efforts to persuadé governments to conclude a trade agree ment with Japan.
member
For the European Parliament a trade agreement is only the first step; it would like the Community to collaborate with Japan in industrial and financial matters also. In fact during its last session the Parliament adopted a fesolution calling for economic co-operation which would not be limited to questions of trade but would include all fields of common interest, such as capital movements and world trade in raw materials. The re- solution also called for contacts with members of the Japanese Rarliament.
But all this enthusiasm has not blind- ed members to the problems that face negotiators. The resolution adopted by the Parliament, while calling for the pro- gressive liberalisation of trade, noted that given the sensitive nature of certain pro- ducts the EEC would have to draw up a list of products for which special measures", including import quotas, would be necessary, if only temporarily. In addition the agreement would have to include a safeguard clause which either side could invoke if it felt that imports were disrupting or threatening to disrupt, Its market
IDEAS ON NIGHT SHIFT FOR WOMEN WORKERS
THE decision of the Hongkong govern- ment to ease the restrictions on night work by women has so far provoked little public debate. The Colony has suffered an acute shortage of labour since the early 1960s, a situation aggravated by the legislation passed to steadily reduce
the permitted hours of work by women and young persons which is also affect- ing the length of the working week for male employees. Under the circum- stances, the move to increase the available supplies of workers by allowing women to work night shifts under strictly con- trolled conditions made sense.
Now however, the signs are that the labour force is becoming disturbed by the government's decision. Women workers, in particular, seem distressed by the im plications of the relaxation. The are voicing fears about its impact on domestic life and also feel afraid that their em- ployers may attempt to make them put in longer hours by shift-and-a-half or double-shift working. Small delegations have made two visits to the Hongkong government's grass-root representatives, the City District Officers, to voice their
concern.
A meeting will be held later this week
THE NUMBERS
are
BUSINESS REVIEW
of workers mainly from North Kowloon to discuss ways of opposing the easing of the ban on night work for women. So far, the numbers involved in the protests
small and ΠΟ
indications have emerged of direct industrial action such as strikes to force the government to re- consider its new policy. But it is a sign of the times that even a minority of the local labour force is willing to get to- gether to discuss ways and means of forcing the government to adopt labour policies more in tune with the work force's views.
GAME: 7, 8 OR 6?
BERNARDINO RONQUILLO, MANILA
T looks as though the hapless Peso is destined to grow a lot more ema- ciated before it starts to grow stronger. Its performance during the first days of the "backdoor devaluation" has been worse than expected. One day it dipped as low as 7 to a US dollar, a massive 5% fall from the previous official rate of 3.90. And there were fears that the worst was yet to be.
Businessmen in Manila have never Had it so bad.
The student-led social anrest had done enough damage. Before that they had already had to cope with a year of tightening credit and other "economic restrictions. Then the fall of
the Peso.
Although devaluation was very much in the air for quite some time, there was little indication that the "currency re- form" anpounced on February 21 would come a this early stage and when Con- gress was in session.
What the Central Bank has done is een as the beginning of a devaluation
process which is expected, hopefully, to 'establish a new exchange rate of 6 to the US dollar. There was some con- fusion on the first day of CB Circular 289, for bankers themselves did not know how to go about implementing the order. On the second day at Forex (Foreign Exchange Centre), Manila's
new
dollar trading enclave where bankers act as brokers, the rate Auctu- ated between 5.00 and 5.70, reflecting Same underlying strength as a result of the dollar credits committed to support + the Pesq.
These included, besides the $27.5 mil- lion third credit tranche from the IMF, $40 million from a syndicate of US commercial banks and $40 million from the US Federal Reserve Bank as ad- vances against the Philippines' gold holdings. A secondary stabilisation loan of about $120 million from consortium of US and Japanese banks was also re- ported coming.
The new accommodations were ob
INN
REGISTRY NO.5]
HICKS/2
K.271,
Please P.A,
82/4/20.