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exist between us in banking, shipping, merchanting, finance
and trade generally. I said that we have sent out over 200
trade missions in ten years but it is a striking fact that
we have sent more to Hong Kong than to any other one place.
This is the sixth. This speaks volumes not only for your
hospitality but also for our sustained interest in your
market. The London Chamber in fact has a special section
dealing solely with Hong Kong. It was set up in the mid 1950's at a time when Hong Kong-made goods were being
subjected to a considerable amount of adverse publicity
in Britain and it now has nearly 2,000 member firms who
elect their own Chairman and Committee. One only has to name
the last four Chairmen Mr. Hamm of Dodwells, Mr. Grimwood
of John D. Hutchinson, Mr. Scott of John Swire and Mr. Michael
Herries of Jardine Matheson, to prove that the spirit of Hong Kong is very much alive and well within the London
Chamber.
The idea of setting up such a section was to reach a wider
audience than the Hong Kong Association, although the two
bodies work very closely together. Since its formation we
have seen a regular exchange of missions and the Section has
provided a London platform for many speakers from Hong Kong.
Indeed one of the most successful section meetings ever held
at the London Chamber or I should say by the Chamber, as
-
the audience was so great it had to be held outside.
was the
one addressed a few years ago by Sir David Trench when he
was Governor.
Mr. President, my all too brief acquaintance with Hong Kong
has been more than enough to reinforce my long-standing
conviction of the great value of Hong Kong to Britain :
. . . / . . .