CODE 18-77
:
-2-
Reference
the whole of the Pearl river delta and estuary will become a very significant area of development. It will provide massive new opportunities for business. We are seeing the beginning of the industrial mobilisation of 25m people who live within a sixty mile radius of Shajiao. And much of this development, will
be inspired or supported from Hong Kong.
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Thats not far down the road but back in Hong Kong today, trading activities re-exports - have overtaken the territory's domestic production. Hong Kong's re-exports to the PRC are expanding faster than to anywhere else. Companies from a lot of countries are using the territory as a way into China. The Japanese lead in this. Last year they routed the equivalent of a billion pounds worth of exports to China through Hong Kong. Taiwan sent three quarters as much through the territory. The United States half a billion pounds worth. Korea, not much less. Germany about £108M; as I said, Britain about £100M. So others are making much more use of Hong Kong than we are.
Its a well-used route into China. In all, about £4.8bn worth of merchandise passed through Hong Kong to China last year: an enormous sum. In the first six months of this year compared with the first six months of last year it was up by 50pc. Nor surprisingly, the PRC is using the same route in the other direction for exports.
In a moment, Mick O'Brien will provide a view from the CTU but it is interesting how our work within the Trade Commission in Hong Kong and our contacts are becoming much more closely inter-related. With the increasing number of China developments being initiated in Hong Kong, my regular contacts with people like Li Ka Shing, Lord Kadoorie and Gordon Wu inevitably involve discussion of projects in China. Commercial officers in all parts of the Trade Commission are finding that businessmen local and visitors – are involved in China as well as Hong Kong. Its becoming more difficult within the BTC to draw a clear line between who does what concerning Hong Kong and the PRC. This is not a problem but from a resources point of view and I am sure this will come up during our in-house session on Friday its a good reason why we should, for a start, try to synchronise the Diplomatic Service inspections of Peking and the BTC in Hong Kong.
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Well that's a view from the Trade Commission. I stress I don't see a contest between Hong Kong and Peking as a base. We should be doing more in both places.
RE Holloway
October 1988