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Current Hong Kong-China Economic Developments: Month Notes:
January 1983
· Oil
At the beginning of the month both Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao published feature articles on the latest developments in South China Sea oil explorations and emphasising the role Hong Kong would play. The articles included interviews with leading officials from the China Ocean Oilfields Services (HK) Ltd. which was set up last summer through the joint efforts of China Merchants Steam Navigation Co., the Bank of China, and China Development Finance Co. (HK) Ltd. to provide logistics services in such areas as consultancy, training, recruitment, procurement, transport and accommodation. The company will revisit professionals in Hong Kong on behalf of some of the multi-national oil firms involved in South China Sea operations. In addition, the company was opening a training school in Shenzhen, for which tutors might be recruited from Hong Kong. The newspapers said that China had recognised Hong Kong's special role in off- shore oil exploration and could make use of it. Development of China's off-shore oil industry would give Hong Kong's economy a new impetus in the next three to five years.
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This build-up was in preparation for the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong office of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) on 20 January. CNOOC's President, Qin Wencai, attended the ceremony and reiterated Hong Kong's favourable situation for the provision of offshore services in the South China Sea. This area will soon become an important centre for investment, the supply of equipment and materials, and our entrepot for crude oil. In all of these, Hong Kong should be able to play a major role, Mr. Qin said.
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