WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1984
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+ IN BROAD TERMS, THE INVESTMENT SHOULD BE RECOUPED AND THE LOANS PAID OFF IN 12 - 15 YEARS, MR SCOTT SAID.
HONG KONG ENTREPRENEURS CONSIDERED 12 YEARS, LET ALONE 15 YEARS, A LONG TIME TO RECOVER THE CAPITAL IN AN INVESTMENT, HE SAID.
BUT NOTING THAT RAILWAYS CONTINUED TO RUN AND TO PRODUCE PROFITS FOR FAR LONGER PERIODS, HE SAID, THE FIRST RENEWAL OF ROLLING STOCK TAKES PLACE TYPICALLY AROUND 40 YEARS AFTER OPENING A SYSTEM- AND MANY RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS HAVE CELEBRATED THEIR 100TH ANNIVERSARIES.
+ I HOPE THAT MR CHEONG, AS AN ABLE ADVOCATE OF CONFIDENCE AND STEADINESS AT THIS TIME, WILL AGREE THAT THE KCRC, IN DECIDING TO BUILD THIS LRT, IS TAKING A CONFIDENT, LONG TERM VIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WESTERN NEW TERRITORIES.+
MR SCOTT ALSO REPORTED THAT THE ELECTRONIC ROAD PRICING PILOT SCHEME WOULD BE THE SUBJECT OF FURTHER BRIEFINGS AND CONSULTATIONS WITH DISTRICT BOARDS.
+ INDEED. IN ABOUT THREE WEEKS WE SHALL BEGIN ANOTHER ROUND OF THE BOARDS, BECAUSE THE INCREASING INFORMATION COMING FORWARD FROM THE RESEARCH WORK AND SURVEYS MAKE IT TIMELY FOR US TO EXPAND UPON AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THE PILOT SCHEME, + HE SAID.
CLOSER GOODS PROCESSING LINKS WITH CHINA SEEN
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EXCHANGE AND INTER-DEPENDENCE IN GOODS PROCESSING WOULD BE A GROWING FEATURE OF HONG KONG'S RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA AND WOULD CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY TO BOTH ECONOMIES, THE SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC SERVICES, THE HON PIERS JACOBS, SAID IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY.
MR JACOBS WAS COMMENTING ON FIGURES OF HONG KONG'S TRADE WITH CHINA, WHICH HAD BECOME THE SECOND LARGEST MARKET FOR THE TERRITORY'S DOMESTIC PRODUCTS.
WHILE THIS DEVELOPMENT WAS WELCOME, CARE WAS NEEDED IN INTERPRETING THE FIGURES, HE SAID.
+DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO MOST MARKETS COMPRISE FINISHED GOODS PRODUCED FROM IMPORTS OF RAW MATERIALS OR SEMI-MANUFACTURES.
+ IN THE CASE OF CHINA, A FAIRLY HIGH PROPORTION OF THESE EXPORTS IS REPRESENTED BY SEMI-MANUFACTURED GOODS GOING TO CHINA FOR FURTHER PROCESSING. OFTEN THE GOODS RETURN TO HONG KONG AS IMPORTS FOR FURTHER FINISHING, HE EXPLAINED.
/THUS, SOME