THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1978
TOP LEVEL ECONOMIC MISSION TO JAPAN
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AN ECONOMIC MISSION MADE UP OF TOP HONG KONG INDUSTRIALISTS, BANKERS, BUSINESSMEN AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WILL VISIT JAPAN NEXT MONTH. THE GOVERNOR, SIR MURRAY MACLEHOSE, WILL JOIN THE MISSION IN JAPAN FOR TWO DAYS OF HIGH-LEVEL ENGAGEMENTS.
ANNOUNCING THIS TODAY (THURSDAY) AT A KOWLOON ROTARY CLUB LUNCHEON MEETING, THE COMMISSIONER OF INDUSTRY AND CUSTOMS, MR. WILLIAM DORWARD, SAID THE MISSION WOULD BE +PROBABLY THE HIGHEST LEVEL GROUP OF ITS KIND EVER ASSEMBLED TO REPRESENT HONG KONG ABROAD.+
THE MISSION, WHICH IS JOINTLY ORGANISED BY THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT AND THE TRADE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, IS HEADED BY SIR YUET-KEUNG KAN.
OTHER MEMBERS OF THE MISSION WILL BE SIR SZE-YUEN CHUNG, SIR YUE-KONG PAO, MR. T.K. ANN, MR. MICHAEL SANDBERG, MR. DAVID NEWBIGGING, MR. LEN DUNNING AND MR. DORWARD HIMSELF.
THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE MISSION ARE TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF THE ECONOMIC POTENTIAL WHICH HONG KONG OFFERS JAPAN TO EXPLORE JOINTLY THE OPPORTUNITIES EXISTING IN HONG KONG FOR INDUSTRIAL
INVESTMENT AND THE TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY BY JAPANESE COMPANIES- TO ENCOURAGE THE EXPANSION OF TWO-WAY TRADE BETWEEN HONG KONG AND JAPAN- AND TO FOSTER GOOD RELATIONS BETWEEN JAPAN. AND HONG KONG AT A SENIOR LEVEL IN BOTH THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS.
MR. DORWARD SAID THAT HONG KONG HAS ALREADY ATTRACTED NEARLY 100 JAPANESE INDUSTRIAL VENTURES WITH A TOTAL INVESTMENT OF SOME HK$400 MILLION.
+BUT WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT THIS REPRESENTS LESS THAN TWO PER CENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG INDUSTRY- WHEN YOU REMEMBER THE SCOPE AND RANGE OF JAPANESE INVESTMENT ELSEWHERE- AND WHEN YOU THINK OF HOW MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE INVESTMENT COSTS MUST APPEAR WITH THE RISE OF THE YEN- IT WOULD APPEAR THERE IS SCOPE FOR SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT, HE ADDED.
+OF COURSE IT IS NOT ONLY DIRECT INVESTMENT JAPAN HAS TO OFFER,+ MR, DORWARD SAID. +TECHNOLOGY IS A COMMODITY WHICH CAN BE EXPORTED LIKE ANY OTHER AND THE JAPANESE AUTHORITIES, THROUGH JETRO, HAVE RECENTLY GIVEN PUBLICITY AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE PROMOTION OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.
+ BELIEVE THAT IT WILL INCREASINGLY BE A FEATURE OF HONG KONG INDUSTRY THAT IT WILL GO OUT TO SHOP FOR TECHNOLOGY AS IT DOES FOR RAW MATERIALS AND SEMI-MANUFACTURES.+
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