a lot more light coming through the foliage and I personally believe that we shall in the measureable future be in a steadier condition than many of our
trading competitors who have yet I fear
to go through the sort of trauma which we have endured.
Some are now in the throes of it.
THE £ STERLING
We have, of course, also yet to get out of the morass of the international monetary chaos. Latterly this has resulted in speculative and quite unreasonable runs on the £ which make the withdrawal of HK$ in the
share market run down look relatively minor. It has put a strain on our economy which has little to do with the economy itself but has been encouraged by the higher interest rates available elsewhere. Happily it seems to be steadying again now and we must all hope that it will be sustained for our sakes, for Hong Kong's sake and for the sake of all who hold Sterling. The real need is for a revision of the international monetary arrange- ments and as you know the British Government is working hard, and has been for over 4 years, to achieve this; until it is achieved none of us will know where we really
stand.
St
TRADE DRIVE TO HONG KONG
It is against the background of the upsurge in Britain's economy, the increased production capacity, the general increase in exports, that we are turning our attention with new resolve towards Hong Kong, among (and high among) markets in this area.
Our campaign is already well under way. The British Industrial Exhibition last year was part of it
in a sense the start. Since then we have had visits from Mr Peter Walker and Sir Geoffrey Howe both of whom have responsibility for promoting British exports generally, and from Mr Heseltino with his special interest in aircraft and shipping. They have all
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