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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1980
RETIRING DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES LAUDED
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THE GOVERNOR, SIR MURRAY MACLEHOSE, TODAY PAID TRIBUTE TO THE HON TED NICHOLS, THE DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES WHO IS DUE TO RETIRE SOON AFTER SERVING IN THE DEPARTMENT FOR 21 YEARS.
SIR MURRAY THANKED MR NICHOLS IN HIS LAST SITTING IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY FOR ALL HIS VALUABLE SERVICES TO HONG KONG, PARTICULARLY HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS THE FISHING INDUSTRY AND THE SETTING UP OF COUNTRY PARKS.
HE SAID THAT MR NICHOLS HAD ENCOURAGED THE PRODUCTIVITY OF THE FISHING FLEET, CHANGES IN THE DESIGN OF FISHING VESSELS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF MARICULTURE AND PELAGIC FISHING,
HE ALSO POINTED OUT THAT THE COUNTRY PARKS AND THEIR MANAGEMENTS WERE ABLE TO BE ESTABLISHED WITH EXTRAORDINARY SPEED BECAUSE OF THE ENERGY AND IMAGINATION WITH WHICH MR NICHOLS HAD LED HIS STAFF.
+HE WILL BE REMEMBERED AS A PRESERVER OF HONG KONG’S COUNTRYSIDE, AND AN ORGANISER OF RECREATION IN IT,+ SIR MURRAY SAID.
THE HON OSWALD CHEUNG, SENIOR UNOFFICIAL MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL JOINED THE GOVERNOR IN WISHING MR NICHOLS A LONG, HAPPY AND ACTIVE RETIREMENT.
DECEMBER MONEY SUPPLY AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS
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THE MONEY SUPPLY AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS FOR DECEMBER 1979 ARE PUBLISHED TODAY. THEY ARE CALCULATED ON THE REVISED BASIS SET OUT BY THE GOVERNMENT EARLIER THIS MONTH (GIS PRESS RELEASE OF JANUARY 7).
THE STATISTICS SHOW GROWTH OF MONEY SUPPLY (M3) WHICH IS PARTLY SEASONAL IT ALSO REFLECTS AN EXPANSION IN TOTAL CREDIT TO THE ECONOMY, AND ALSO PERHAPS AN INFLOW OF FUNDS ACROSS THE EXCHANGES, WHICH WAS DEMONSTRATED BY THE STRENGTH OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR TOWARDS THE END OF DECEMBER.
MONEY SUPPLY
THE MONEY SUPPLY ON THE NARROWEST DEFINITION (M1) (NOTES AND COIN WITH THE PUBLIC, PLUS DEMAND DEPOSITS, OTHER THAN FROM BANKS AND DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES, WITH LICENSED BANKS) ROSE BY 4.1 PER CENT IN DECEMBER, UP FROM 1.8 PER CENT IN NOVEMBER. THE MONTHLY CHANGES IN THIS MEASURE ARE VERY ERRATIC IT ROSE DURING 1979 BY 3.7 PER CENT. (COMPARABLE FIGURES ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR 1978 FOR ANY DEFINITIONS OF THE MONEY SUPPLY.)
/M2, WHICH IS