allowed and encouraged a tremendous influx of investment from Hong Kong and heralded a new chapter in the industrial history of both the Territory and Guangdong.
Study Brief
1.9 The Hong Kong Government is in the process of formulating a territorial land-use and transport development strategy that will anticipate infrastructure requirements in the Territory up to the turn of the century. In deriving their preferred scenario the Hong Kong Government has stated that it wished to take account of the likely extent to which infrastructure will have to be provided or upgraded to cater for the Territory's future role as a Special Administrative Region of China. Much closer connections with Guangdong can be expected.
1.10 The scale and pace of development in the wider region may also have spatial implications within Hong Kong. Some insight into recent economic trends and related development trends in Guangdong (and particularly the Pearl River Delta area) were considered desirable - a view could then be taken on how such trends might influence the future development of Hong Kong.
1.11 On the completion of the next stage (Stage II), the study should be able to provide the needed pointers as to how Hong Kong's long term territorial strategic plans should be structured to take best advantage of developments in Guangdong.
Organisation of the Report
1.12 During the course of Stage 1, three Topic Reports were produced. These three reports examined a number of issues pertinent to economic and spatial
Table 1.2 Summary of Recent Provincial Growth
Daya bay nuclear power station
developments in Guangdong and were submitted to members of the Study Steering Group for their
comment.
1.13 The Appendices to this report are based largely on those reports. They incorporate the Consultants' responses to members' comments. The two principal chapters in this Executive Summary, which are entitled, "Main Conclusions: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) to Continued Development in Guangdong” (Chapter 2) and "Final Development Profile" (Chapter 3), however, draw their material from the Appendices. The first of these chapters highlights some main study conclusions in terms of:
(a)
the strengths of the province - these are mainly to do with its geographic position, the determination of its people to do well, its new competitive market oriented attitude to business, its early tackling of the problem of inadequate infrastructure and, in the absence
Indicator
1980
1991
GDP (Rmb 100 million)
245.7
1,780.6
Total employment (million people)
22.80
33.2
Exports (US$ millions)
219.5
1,386.8
Provincial GDP as a percentage of total for China
5%
9%
Provincial exports as a percentage of total Chinese exports
12%
18%
Note:
(1) 1978 data.
Source:
China Statistical Yearbook 1992, Guangdong Statistical Yearbook 1991.
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