HONG KONG FINANCIAL ROUND-UP October 1992
Business Council Appointed
The Governor has established a Business Council to expand the range of advice to him on business and related matters. Eighteen distinguished businessmen have been appointed to the council including, Victor Li, Executive Director of Cheung Kong Holdings; Peter Woo, chairman of World International; Gordon Wu, Managing Director of Hopewell Holdings; Larry Yung, Managing Director of CITIC Pacific; and Nigel Rich Managing Director of Jardine Matheson (Holdings).
Monetary Authority to be Established
The Governor announced that the proposed Monetary Authority would bring together the existing Office of the Exchange Fund and the Office of the Banking Commissioner and would be accountable to the Financial Secretary.
Trade War Averted
China and the U.S.A. have finally reached agreement on the section 301 market access talks during the final round of negotiations in Washington D.C.
Veto Sustained
The U.S.A. Senate failed by a slim margin to override President Bush's veto of a bill which seeks to impose conditions on the renewal of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) trading status for China.
HK Container Port
Hong Kong has regained the top spot as the world's busiest container port, displacing Singapore after the first seven months of this year. Figures released by the Marine Department show that Hong Kong handled just over 4.3 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), an increase of 27 per cent over the same time last year.
Air Cargo Exports up 20%
Cargo sent through Hong Kong International Airport increased 13.7 per cent in August compared with the same month last year. The biggest growth was in exports, which rose some 19.6 per cent of 46.2 million kilograms, representing 57 per cent of the total volume of cargo handled at Kai Tak in August.
In the first eight months of the year, total cargo was up 10.8 per cent over the same period last year to 571.5 million kilos.
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