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INDUSTRY AND TRADE
Hong Kong International Airport. These have been instrumental in speeding up the processing of passengers and their effects. The General Duties Branch deals with trade licensing (other than for textiles) and the control of certain reserved com- modities including rice.
Trade Development Council
The Trade Development Council (TDC) was established by statute in 1966 'to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's overseas trade, with particular reference to exports'. The council's chairman is appointed by the Governor. Its members consist of representatives of principal commercial and industrial organisations, two senior government officials and four nominated members. The work of the council's executive is financed by subvention from the general revenue.
At the end of the year under review, TDC's main office which includes a perma- nent display of Hong Kong products moved from the Ocean Terminal, Kowloon, to the new Connaught Centre Building, Hong Kong. The council's network of overseas offices was further extended with the opening of new offices in Manchester, Milan, Hamburg and Amsterdam. Offices overseas which provide extensive trade services for Hong Kong and foreign businessmen now number 15. Others are located in London, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Brussels, Vienna, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto, Tokyo and Sydney.
The programme of overseas promotional activities in 1972 was the most extensive so far undertaken, covering a total of 36 separate projects. Participation of Hong Kong manufacturers and exporters was organised at a number of general and specialised trade fairs, the Milan Comis Tricot knitwear fair, Nuremburg International Toy Fair, Cologne Household Goods Fair, Dusseldorf IGEDO fashion fair, Frankfurt General Fair, the International Mens and Boys Wear Exhibition (IMBEX) in London, the Leipzig International Trade Fair, and New York's international toy and jewellery fairs. Pilot projects took place at a number of trade fairs in East Europe, at the Paris Pret a Porter and at the Tokyo International Toy Fair. In addition, outward trade missions visited the Benelux countries, Scandinavia, Australia, Japan, Malaysia/ Singapore, selected African countries, and, on two occasions, the United States. Inward missions were drawn from Italy, West Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, Britain and the United States.
In Hong Kong, the Trade Development Council participated in the annual CMA Exhibition of Hong Kong Products, and organised the fifth annual Hong Kong Ready to Wear festival in March which attracted buyers from many countries.
The overseas circulation of the council's trade publications increased during the year. The chief of these are the monthly magazine 'Enterprise' which is sent to more than 100 countries, 'Apparel' which is published twice yearly and 'Toys' which is produced annually. Other TDC publications circulated overseas include 'Hong Kong for the Businessman' and 'Industrial Investment Hong Kong' (produced in collabora- tion with the Department of Commerce and Industry). During the year, the council completed its first film which was well received by overseas audiences.