FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1981
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+GENTLEMEN, THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG, PALMERSTON'S 'BARREN ISLAND' WITH NO RESOURCES, NOW ENJOY ONE OF THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF LIVING IN ASIA,+ MR AKERS-JONES DECLARED.
+THEY HAVE ACHIEVED SUCCESS BY HARD WORK AND ADAPTABILITY, OPERATING IN A LARGELY UNPROTECTED ECONOMY WITH A LOW TAX BASE.+
THE ESTABL " ·MENT OF A SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE AT SHENZHEN, AND INCREASING .TUAL INVESTMENT BETWEEN HONG KONG AND THE REST GF CHINA, ADDED FURTHER STRENGTH TO OUR ECONOMY.
IN THE PAST THREE YEARS, TRAINS AND COACHES, FLIGHTS, FERRY AND HOVERFERRY SERVICES TO GUANGZHOU AND OTHER PARTS OF CHINA HAD DEVELOPED WHERE NONE HAD EXISTED FOR 30 YEARS.
+THE PACE OF CHANGE IS EXHILARATING AND EVERY YEAR IN HONG KONG BRINGS ITS NEW EXCITEMENT, NEW CHALLENGE.
+1 AM CONFIDENT THAT THE RESOURCEFULNESS WHICH HAS CREATED THE HONG KONG OF TODAY IS INCREASING AS RAPIDLY AS OUR GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, MR AKERS-JONES CONCLUDED.
THE FORUM OPENED ON MONDAY AND WILL CLOSE TODAY. IT HAS BEEN HELD AT THE REGANT HOTEL IN KOWLOON.
ECONOMY SHOWS STRENGTH IN THIRD QUARTER ****
THERE ARE CLEAR INDICATIONS THAT THE SHIFT IN THE IMPETUS TO GROWTH FROM DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO DOMESTIC DEMAND HAS BEEN SLOWING DOWN, ACCORDING TO THE THIRD QUARTER ECONOMIC REPORT 1981 PUBLISHED TODAY.
IN THE THIRD QUARTER, DOMESTIC EXPORTS RECORDED A GROWTH RATE IN REAL TERMS OF 8 PER CENT COMPARED WITH THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1980, AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF GENERALLY UNFAVOURABLE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN HONG KONG'S MAIN MARKETS. AT THE SAME TIME, THE GROWTH RATE OF RETAINED IMPORTS OF CONSUMER GOODS DECELERATED SHARPLY, INDICATING A SLOWING DOWN IN THE GROWTH RATE OF PRIVATE CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE.
THE THIRD QUARTER ECONOMIC REPORT ASSESSES PRIMARILY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF THIS YEAR, USING SUCH STATISTICS AS ARE AVAILABLE, AND UPDATES THE ANALYSES OF THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR CONTAINED IN THE HALF-YEARLY ECONOMIC REPORT 1981, PUBLISHED IN AUGUST.
IN ITS OVERALL VIEW OF THE ECONOMY, THE REPORT, WHILE NOTING THAT ECONOMIC GROWTH IN 1981 AS A WHOLE WILL PROBABLY TURN OUT TO BE LED MORE BY DOMESTIC DEMAND THAN BY DOMESTIC EXPORTS, EMPHASISES THAT THIS IS A MANIFESTATION OF THE PROSPERITY OF HONG KONG IN RECENT YEARS AND DERIVES FROM THE SUSTAINED BOOM IN EXPORTS IN LATE 1970'S AND THE CONTINUED AVAILABLITY OF CREDIT. IT ALSO POINTS OUT THAT SUCH A SHIFT IN THE SOURCE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH HAS NOT BEEN ACCOMPANIED BY ANY MARKED IMBALANCE BETWEEN THE DEMAND FOR DOMESTIC RSOURCES AND THE SUPPLY OF THEM EVEN IN RESPECT OF LAND AND PROPERTY, BUT HAS RESULTED IN A WIDENING OF THE TRADE GAP.
ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT