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HONG KONG FINANCIAL ROUND-UP December 1991-January 1992
Record Container Throughput
Hong Kong's annual container throughput has lopped six million TEUS (20-foot equivalent units) for the first time, according to provisional figures released by the Marine Department. The figures show that in 1991, the port of Hong Kong handled some 6.2 million TEUs - an increase of 21 per cent compared with 5.1 million units in 1990.
The provisional figures also indicate that Hong Kong handled over 104 million tonnes of cargo in 1991, up 17 per cent over 1990.
Air Cargo Throughput
The amount of air cargo handled by Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (HACTL) has increased by almost eight per cent in the first 11 months of 1991. More than 752,000 tonnes of cargo were shipped through Kai Tak compared with 698,000 tonnes for the same period in 1990.
Retail sales up 20%
The value of Hong Kong's total retail sales rose by 19.9 per cent in October to HK$11.7 billion (US$1.5 billion), the fourth consecutive significant monthly increase. The preliminary figures released by the Census and Statistics Department show the volume of sales rose by 13.5 per cent. Consumer durables continued to register impressive growth, increasing by 32.5 per cent in value and 25 per cent in volume. this group, motor vehicle sales out-paced the rest clocking a 54.5 per cent rise in value and 41 per cent in volume.
Tourism outlook good
In
Hong Kong is expected to net some HK$40 billion (US$5 billion) in overall tourism receipts in 1991 with visitor arrivals around the six million mark. During November, Hong Kong attracted 548,600 visitors, an increase of 5.4 per cent over the same month last year, bringing the total for the first 11 months of the year to 5.45 million. For the first time this year all major markets registered an increase in visitor arrivals.
Despite the decline in air travel during and after the Gulf War, passenger throughput at Kai Tak increased from 18.7 million to 19.2 million for 1991, an increase of nearly three per cent
Major Chinese Investment in HK
China-based company, World Wide Electronic, is to spend some HK$2.34 billion (US$300 million) in developing a high-tech electronic components plant in Hong Kong. The company, a subsidiary of the Shenzhen Electronics Group, has signed a contract for the lease of a 3.4 hectare site at the Tai Po Industrial Estate - the largest single project to be established in the estate. The plant will produce application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) and application specific standard products (ASSP). There will also be provision for manufacturing dynamic random access memory (DRAM) at a later stage.