21
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1987
FOR THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 1987 AS A WHOLE, THE VALUES TOTAL EXPORTS AND OF IMPORTS WERE ROUGHLY IN BALANCE.
OF
ON THE FINANCIAL. SECTOR, THE REPORT NOTES THE FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENTS. FIRST, DURING MOST OF THE THIRD QUARTER, THE MARKET EXCHANGE RATE OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR STAYED CLOSE TO THE LINKED RATE OF HK$7.80 TO US$1, EXCEPT FOR A TEMPORARY STRENGTHENING IN BARLY SEPTEMBER DUE ΤΟ SPECULATION THAT THE LOCAL CURRENCY WOULD BB REVALUED. THE SPECULATIVE PRESSURE QUICKLY SUBSIDED AFTERWARDS.
SECOND, REFLECTING FLUCTUATIONS IN THE EXCHANGE VALUE OF THE U.S. DOLLAR AGAINST OTHER MAJOR CURRENCIES, THE NEW EFFECTIVE EXCHANGE RATE INDEX OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR FELL FROM 106.2 AT THE END OF JUNE TO 105.7 AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
THIRD, APART FROM A
TEMPORARY
LOCAL. MONEY MARKET INTEREST RATES WERE THIRD QUARTER.
DOWNWARD DRIFT IN SEPTEMBER, GENERALLY STABLE DURING THE
FOURTH, LOW REAL INTEREST RATES, BUOYANT ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES AND AN ACTIVE STOCK MARKET ALL. CONTRIBUTED TO A GREATER DEMAND FOR LOANS.
AS A RESULT, LOANS FOR LOCAL USE, HONG KONG DOLLAR. DEPOSITS AND THE HONG KONG DOLLAR MONEY SUPPLY ALL GREW MORE RAPIDLY DURING THE THIRD QUARTER THAN DURING THE PREVIOUS QUARTER.
ON THE LABOUR SECTOR, THE REPORT OBSERVES THAT WHILE EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING RECORDED ONLY. A SLIGHT INCREASE, EMPLOYMENT IN FINANCIAL AND BUSINESS SERVICES, IN THE WHOLESALE, RETAIL AND IMPORT/EXPORT TRADES, IN TRANSPORT SERVICES, AND ON BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION SITES ROSE SIGNIFICANTLY IN JUNE 1987 OVER A YEAR EARLIER.
WITH THE DEMAND FOR LABOUR OUTSTRIPPING SUPPLY AT THE CURRENT WAGE LEVELS, VACANCIES IN ALL, MAJOR SECTORS INCREASED SHARPLY IN JUNE 1987 COMPARED WITH A YEAR AGO. OVER THE SAME PERIOD, EARNINGS IN THE MANUFACTURING AND SERVICES SECTORS, IN TERMS OF PAYROLL PER PERSON ENGAGED, INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY BOTH IN MONEY TERMS AND IN REAL TERMS, AS DID WAGE RATES IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR.
THE REPORT NOTES THAT THE INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, AS AN INDICATOR OF CHANGES IN THE VOLUME OF MANUFACTURING OUTPUT, WAS 19 PER CENT HIGHER IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1987 THAN IN THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR.
MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY CONTINUED TO BE BUOYANT IN THE THIRD QUARTER, AS REFLECTED BY THE FIGURES ON DOMESTIC EXPORTS, ON RETAINED IMPORTS OF RAW MATERIALS AND SEMI-MANUFACTURES, ON THE QUANTITY OF ELECTRICITY CONSUMED BY INDUSTRY, AND ON THE ORDER-BOOK THE LARGE MANUFACTURERS.
POSITIONS
OF
THE REPORT