CONFIDENTIAL #
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manufacturing use, the changes in real terms shown
in the relevant data are not sufficiently reliable
to be quoted publicly. The series is included merely to provide a rough indication of the overall trend. These retained imports grew by about 56% in real terms in the third quarter of 1987, following increases of 17% and 37% respectively in the first and second quarters. The corresponding growth rate in the fourth quarter of 1986 was 28%. In
contrast, there was a decline in investment in the
first half of 1986, and only a small increase in
the third quarter (Table 2). The substantial
growth in this category of investment has now been
maintained for four consecutive quarters.
10.
•
Within this category, investment in virtually all items grew strongly in money terms in
the third quarter of 1987. The fastest increases
were recorded for transport equipment, air conditioners and air conditioning machines, office
machinery, and electrical line telephone
apparatus. On the other hand, a rather smaller
increase was recorded for construction machinery
(Table 4).
•
Investment in property
(all growth rates quoted in this section are on
year-on-year basis)
11.
(a) General situation
Supported by favourable economic
conditions and a relatively low mortgage rate, the
property market remained active during the third
quarter of 1987. The demand for industrial
property continued to be firm, given the robust