TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1974
WERE INTENSELY EXCITING, BUT +THEY ARE ALSO EXTREMELY COSTLY.+
INFEROVERNOR SAID THE SIZE AND SCOPE OF THESE PROGRAMMES
HE ADDED, HOWEVER: +GIVEN NORMAL PROSPERITY THEY ARE WITHIN OUR MEANS, BUT FROM YEAR TO YEAR WE WILL HAVE TO MAINTAIN FLEXIBILITY AND KEEP A VERY CLOSE EYE ON FINANCIAL REALITIES AND THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO US FROM ALL SOURCES.·
REFERRING TO THE ECONOMY, SIR KURRAY NOTED THAT DESPITE THE DIFFICULTIES BEING EXPERIENCED BY WORLD MARKETS, HONG KONG HAD SO FAR COME THROUGH BETTER THAN MOST. THANKS TO THE SINGLE-MINDEDNESS AND SPEED OF LOCAL BUSINESSMEN, HARD WORK, SKILL AND REALISM OF VAGE EARNERS.
+THE LATEST INDICATORS STILL SHOW A RATE OF ANNUAL GROWTH IN REAL TERMS OF ABOUT SEVEN TO EIGHT PER CENT, HE SAID, +AND THE QUANTITY OF EXPORTS HANUFACTURED IN HONG KONG IN THE LAST QUARTER IS THE HIGHEST ACHIEVED, AS IS THE TONNAGE OF DOMESTIC MANUFACTURES SHIPPED.+
HE ADDED: +THE PLAIN FACT IS THAT AT THE MOMENT HONG KONG INDUSTRY IS MORE COMPETITIVE THAN IT HAS BEEN FOR SOME YEARS, AND IT IS THEREFORE WELL PLACED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WHATEVER DEMAND THERE IS IN THE REST OF THE WORLD.+
NEVERTHELESS, THE GOVERNOR VENT ON, THE GALES BLOWING
IN WORLD MARKETS WERE TAKING THEIR TOLL IN HONG KONG AS ELSEVKERE. WHILE MOST HOUSTRIALISTS WERE ACHIEVING COMPARATIVE OVERALL SUCCESS, THIS WAS AT THE EXPENSE OF SQUEEZED MARGINS AND OF EXCEPTIONAL EFFORT AND ANXIETY. +AT THIS PRICE NOST ARE RIDING OUT THE SVELL OR MAKING PROGRESS, EUT SOME, AND PARTICULARLY SOME SMALLER FIRMS WITH SMALL RESOURCES OF FINANCE OR MANAGEMENT, ARE NOT.
WORRIED
THE ASPECT SIR MURRAY FOUND MOST WORRYING WAS THAT EXPORTS, ALTHOUGH HIGH, HAD NOT PRODUCED FULL EMPLOYMENT AS IN THE PAST.
+ON THE CONTRARY, THE LABOUR MARKET IS COMPARATIVELY SLACK, AND THERE IS SOME UNEMPLOYMENT AND MORE UNDEREMPLOYMENT, AND THOUGH WAGES HAVE RISEN SIGNIFICANTLY, THEY HAVE NOT RISEN TO ANYTHING LIKE THE SAME EXTENT AS THE PRICES TO BE PAID FOR THE IMPORTED NECESSITIES OF LIFE.+
AS A RESULT, THERE HAD BEEN A SIGNIFICANT FALL-BACK IN REAL WAGES AFTER 10 YEARS OF STEADY RISE, AND MOST FAMILIES IN HONG KONG NOW HAD TO ECONOMISE IN A WAY THEY DID NOT HAVE TO IN YEARS.
SIR MURRAY SAID, HOWEVER, THAT HE EXPECTED THIS SITUATION TO START CORRECTING ITSELF TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR, PROVIDED NO NEW TURN TO INFLATION WAS GIVEN ELSSÜHERE THAT AFFECTED PRICES IN HONG KONG, AND PROVIDED DEMAND FOR HONG KONG GOODS KEEP UP.
/HONG KONG