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ACTION (SEE PARA 10 BELOW). TRADERS KEEP THEIR HEADS DOWN. SPECULATORS ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO A PROFITABLE PERIOD.
5. THE HONG KONG BUSINESS COMMUNITY, THAT IS THE BROAD MASS OF MANUFACTURERS AND ENTREPRENEURS, IS REMARKABLY OPTIMISTIC AND BUSY. I SPENT SUNDAY WITH A GROUP OF A DOZEN OR SO AND IT WOULD BE HARD TO IMAGINE MORE POSITIVE COMPANY, ENJOYING THE CONSIDERABLE FRUITS OF THEIR ENTERPRISE. ONE FLOATED THE VIEW THAT HAD THERE NOT BEEN A ROW WITH CHINA THE STOCK MARKET WOULD NOW BE AROUND 6,500, UNEMPLOYMENT AND INFLATION A SERIOUS CONCERN AND A REAL THREAT OF AN OVER-HEATED ECONOMY. NO MURA SEES SIGNIFICANTLY MORE UPSIDE POTENTIAL THAN DOWNSIDE RISK.
THE AIRPORT
6. IT FOLLOWS FROM THAT OBSERVATION THAT FEW ARE TOO CONCERNED ABOUT THE NEW AIRPORT. DELAY IS EXPECTED AND THE BLAME IS APPORTIONED AMONG THE THREE GOVERNMENTS. IT IS ASSUMED THAT THE AIRPORT WILL BE BUILT EVENTUALLY AND MANY BELIEVE THAT A PAUSE NOW WOULD BE HELPFUL IN GETTING THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND COSTS RIGHT. THE PROJECT IS SEEN AS GOING AGAINST HONG KONG TRADITION IN BEING TOP-HEAVY IN ORGANISATION AND GOVERNMENT RATHER THAN MARKET-LED. MANY IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY SEE THE NEED FOR A REVIEW AND AN UP-DATING OF THE DATA ON WHICH THE CUSTOMER PROJECTIONS WERE BASED. (MACAU AIRPORT, WITH A SIMPLE STRUCTURE, IS GOING AHEAD ON SCHEDULE).
7. EVEN IN MY 8 MONTHS HERE THERE HAVE BEEN MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS AROUND HONG KONG, WITH TWO NEW PORTS BEING DEVELOPED ON EITHER SIDE OF HONG KONG AND A THIRD DEEP-WATER PORT NEAR MACAO WITH A ROAD LINK TO CANTON DUE TO BE COMPLETED THIS AUTUMN. (THIS IS IN ADDITION TO THE GORDON WU HIGHWAY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DELTA). LI KA-SHING SEEMS TO HAVE A HAND IN ALL THREE PORTS. THE NEWS THAT P AND O WILL START BRINGING CARGO DIRECT INTO SHEKOU (TO THE WEST OF HONG KONG) IS SIGNIFICANT. YANTIAN (TO THE NORTH-EAST) WILL BE LINKED TO THE DELTA AND NORTH BY ROAD AND RAIL. WHARF (PETER WOO) SEEM TO BE STEERING THE CONNECTIONS TO CENTRAL CHINA: HOPEWELL (GORDON WU) TO CANTON AND LI KA-SHING TO
I SHANGHAI. THE DEALS ARE BEING DONE AT TOP LEVEL. YANYIAN IS, BELIEVE, WITHIN SHENZHEN.
8. THE NEW INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE DELTA AREA ARE PROGRESSING AT REMARKABLE SPEED. MACAO AIRPORT IS DUE TO OPEN IN 1995/6. SHENZHEN AIRPORT CAN NOW TAKE JUMBOS AND MAJOR AIRLINES ARE CONSIDERING CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR BOTH. MOST REMARKABLE IS
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