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74 However there is the problem of the present imbalance
between the growth rates of domestic demand and of imports
on the one hand and of exports on the other. The natural
effect of this situation on our exchange rate should
discourage imports and encourage exports. If, as we
expect, there is a budgetary surplus again this year,
this too should help to restrain demand. While these
problems are real enough and we must watch them, they
are not large in comparison to those facing most other
countries.
I hope the forces I have referred to will achieve,
gently, the necessary adjustment. However if this
natural process were to be delayed or distorted by
other factors such as, for instance, over-optimism in
the real estate market, the adjustment could be
deferred until it would inevitably be sharper and
more painful.
for Expansion
Government Plans/1978 mid 80s
76
It is against this background that I will now
describe your Government's plans for Hong Kong as
it moves out of the 70s and into the 80s.
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