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consistent with economic reality. This is not to say, that the Director of
Commerce and Industry will not listen to any well documented cese you may be
able to assemble which indicates that particular suppliers are indulging in
unfair trading practices and I mean unfair in terms of GATT rules and not
in the sense that they are simply price competitive. Even then, the Government
would have to consider, very carefully, whether it was in the interests of
Hong Kong as a whole to seek to protect one sector of one industry.
I must confess I am disappointed that you did not, Mr. Chairman,
balance your analysis of the factors having what you described as "an adverse
impact on industry" with an analysis of the many favourable factors present
here, of which the Government's 1976 budget is only one. You made a generous
reference to the budget, for which I am grateful, though I would like to
and stress forcibly that the Government's fiscal and economic
stress
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policies are designed to secure the highest possible growth rate of the
economy as a whole and, to this end, our focus is on the rate of investment
generally irrespective of its source. But returning for a moment to your
"dverse factors" Mr. Ch.irman: I cannot accept that they are all that
adverse. Take electricity charges for example: for medium size industrial/
commercial undert kings, electricity charges are lower in Malaysia than in
Hong Kong, but they are higher in Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom;
and, whilst for large size undertakings, electricity charges are also lover
in Malaysia than in Hong Kong, they are about the same in Hong Kong as in
Singapore and in the United Kingdom and Fre lower here than in Australia.
Ag-in, you said, Mr. Chairman, that water charges are "escalating, but they
have not been raised since the two stage increase to 4 per 1,000 gallons
announced in