INDUSTRY AND TRADE
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Central African Federation, New Zealand, the Board of Trade in London, Canada, Cambodia and Germany.
Hong Kong sent a delegation to the second session of the Com- mittee on Trade of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East held in Bangkok in January 1959. In March another delegation attended the fifteenth session of the full Commission which was held at Broadbeach, Australia.
In the early spring of 1959 Hong Kong participated in the Melbourne International Trade Fair, during which some 400,000 visitors saw the Hong Kong stand with its display of varied products. Several hundred trade buyers expressed their lively interest in commerce with the Colony. The official Hong Kong delegation was led by the Hon. Dhun Ruttonjee, O.B.E., J.P. It is difficult to make any definite estimate of the contribution which the exhibit might have made to the value of the Colony's export trade, but there has been a noticeable increase in the level of exports to Australia since the summer of this year.
In September, Hong Kong displayed its products at the Vienna Autumn International Trade Fair. This fair was only open for nine days but it is estimated that some 660,000 visitors passed through and once again several hundred trade inquiries were transmitted back to Hong Kong by the delegation led by Mr. G. E. Marden, a prominent Hong Kong businessman who had recently retired. The layout of the exhibit was the subject of much favourable comment.
The stands for both these exhibits were designed by Professor W. G. Gregory of the University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Architecture.
The Commerce and Industry Department considerably extended its research services during the year, a new Overseas Trade Rela- tions Branch being set up within the Development Division to survey tariff and other overseas commercial regulations and their effect on the Colony's trade.
Documentation of Origin. Hong Kong is traditionally an entrepôt so that, in a world of regulated trade, certification of the origin of the products which it sells has become increasingly a matter of impor- tance. The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Manufacturers'