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MONDAY, MARCH 21, 1988
HONG KONG NOW RANKED 13TH IN THE WORLD'S TRADING ECONOMIES; AND IN A RECENT DEVELOPMENT ITS CONTAINER PORT HAD BECOME THE WORLD'S BUSIEST, OVERTAKING ROTTERDAM.
"THIS GROWTH IS CONTINUING," SIR DAVID SAID, AND THOUGH 1988 WOULD NOT MATCH LAST YEAR'S 13 PER CENT ECONOMIC GROWTH RATE, A STRONG PERFORMANCE WAS STILL EXPECTED.
THE GOVERNOR POINTED OUT HOW NOT ONLY THE SIZE BUT THE NATURE OF THE ECONOMY HAD CHANGED RADICALLY, AND SO HAD THE PATTERN OF TRADE.
"HONG KONG IS NOW A WORLD LEADER IN WATCHES AND CLOCKS, ELECTRONIC GOODS AND FASHIONABLE CLOTHES, PRINTING AND DESIGN.
"THE OPENING UP OF CHINA'S ECONOMY IN RECENT YEARS HAS MEANT THE RESURGENCE OF HONG KONG'S ROLE AS AN ENTREPOT, A TRANSHIPMENT CENTRE; AND A GATEWAY FOR CHINA TRADE,"
AS A RESULT,
CHINA WAS HONG KONG'S SECOND LARGEST EXPORT
MARKET, AFTER THE UNITED STATES.
BUT HE EMPHASISED THAT OTHER ASIAN ECONOMIES WERE ALSO TAKING A MUCH GREATER PROPORTION OF HONG KONG TRADE, AND HEADWAY AT LAST WAS BEING MADE IN JAPAN.
"WE LOOK FORWARD TO MUCTI MORE TRADE BETWEEN HONG KONG AND OUR NEAR NEIGHBOURS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION
ΤΟ BALANCE OUR TRADITIONAL MARKETS IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE, HE SAID.
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KONG'S ROLE IN THE
HE POINTED TO THE EVOLUT LON OF HONG ASIA-PACIFIC REGION AS A MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN THE TERRITORY'S ECONOMIC TRANSITION.
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'AS WELL AS A TRADING AND A
MANUFACTURING CENTRE, WE HAVE
BECOME, PARTICULARLY OVER THE LAST DECADE OR 80, A CENTRE FOR BUSINESS SERVICES.
"HONG KONG HAS BECOME A PLACK THROUGH WITECH TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE COUNTRIES OF THE WHOLE RECION
A PLACE ΤΟ HAVE ONE'S REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS, HE SAID, NOTING THAT OVER 2,200 INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES NOW OPERATED IN THE TERRITORY.
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SIR DAVID ALSO REFERRED ΤΟ HONG KONG'S EMERGENCE AS AN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE, A ROLE FOR WHICH IT WAS ADMIRABLY SUITED, WITH MORF THAN 100 LICENSED BANKS
INSTITUTIONS HAVING SET UP OPERATIONS HERE.
SUCH A RAPID ECONOMIC TRANSITION DID SIR DAVID SAID. MANUFACTURERS HAD CONSTANTLY STAY COMPETITIVE AND TRADERS FACED THREATS 01 MARKETS AND EXISTING BARRIERS IN NEW ONES.
AND DEPOSIT-TAKING
CREATE SOME PROBLEMS, TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO PROTECTIONISM IN OLD
/IN THE