9
Future Prospects
Dven
27.
The conclusion of the agreement has engendered a new air of confidence and optimism in the territory. Investment in plant and machinery has picked up. This reflects both a lagged response to the export recovery and greater investor confidence in the future. in the property market signs are better than they have been for some years. Hopefully we are through the worst of the strains which the collapse of property prices in 1982 imposed on some of our financial institutions. Our new unified stock exchange should open at the end
of the year.
28.
The agreement has also reinforced the confidence of many overseas investors. Confidence that an acceptable settlement would be achieved was always strong among a number of foreign businessmen, particularly from the United States. About 500 factories in Hong Kong
The United are either fully or partly omed by overseas interests. States accounts for over half the total overseas investment, with Japan accounting for another fifth. United States investment has been particularly strong in recent years in our electronics industry recording a more than fifty percent increase in the last three years. It now accounts for nearly eighty percent of total overseas investment in that industry. Japanese banks have shown a strong interest in our financial sectors. 14 overseas banks have been licensed in the last two years, 10 of them from Japan.
With the 29.
Our public finances are also looking healthier. property collapse of 1982 came a sharp reduction in govemment revenue. from land sales. We have, nevertheless, within the limits of prudent budgetary policy, maintained our development programmes. Plans are now well advanced for long-term development in the 1990s and beyond, including major improvements to Hong Kong's road and rail networks, port facilities and the airport. Our plans will ensure that there is an adequate supply of land coming on stream to meet the needs of our ambitious housing programmes, and to provide for commercial and industrial expansion,
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