where average annual growth over the last twenty years has been
8 per cent and where per capita incomes are now among the highest
in Asia. This is a market which purchases from the UK alone over
£1 billion of goods per annum. It is a market whose
attractiveness will increase as disposable incomes grow further;
as the massive programme of infrastructural projects
projects gets
underway; and as its burgeoning services sector develops.
then there is Hong Kong's importance as a gateway to Southern
China about which I would like to say more later.
Hong Kong is also a focal point for the wider Asia Pacific Rim.
It is well situated geographically, is the regional financial
centre, enjoys excellent communications and is
an ideal
entry point for companies new to this hugely important trading
bloc. For let us be under no illusion: exporting companies which
ignore the Asia Pacific will face a bleak future. This is a
region where GDP growth is now faster than anywhere else in the
world; where by the year 2000 its gross product originating in
manufacturing will be larger than that of the European Community.
It is exceptional: in its fast, sustained growth; the quality of
its workforce and economic systems; its financial strength; the
critical mass of its markets and, above all, the diversity which
provides an unparalleled range of opportunities. If you want to
be in the Asia Pacific, you should be in Hong Kong.
finally Hong Kong has always played an important and
constructive role in multilateral trade organisations. We share
a common desire to see the Uruguay Round of talks under GATT