CONFIDENTIAL
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK: 25TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF
GOVERNORS
HONG KONG, 4-6 MAY 1992
BRIEF NO: : HONG KONG
Objective
To be able to comment favourably on business confidence in- Hong Kong, on its economy and on current political issues, and rebut any criticism of HMG's policy on Hong Kong.
Points to Make
Economy
Inflation
Economy buoyant. Growth forecast at: 5% for 1992.
remains high at-10%. Business confidence high. Hang
Seng index at-record high. Trade and investment links with:
China are increasing. Hong Kong is now 10th largest trading economy in the world.
New Airport-
--Projects:are on course. Number of contracts already
awarded. British companies have been reasonably successful. Major contracts eg Main-Bridge and site preparation- contracts remain to be awarded. Important that Hong Kong can press ahead quickly to meet tight schedules.
-
JIG
·Progress not as quick as we would have hoped, particularly, in view of commitments made during: PM's visit to: China in
September 1991.
--Much work to be done; need to speed up
*AEKACZ71
IRBE
CONFIDENTIAL-