ស
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1988
"AS WE HAVE OFTEN STRESSED, HONG KONG HAS NO TRADE WHETHER IN THE FORM OF TARIFFS OR QUOTAS ; WE PROVIDE NO GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES TO MANUFACTURERS OR EXPORTERS; AND WE NO CONTROLS ON THE FLOW OF FUNDS ACROSS THE EXCHANGES.
·
BARRIERS SPECIFIC EXERCISE
"SO, MANY OF THE IMPORTANT CONCERNS WHICH HAVE BEEN THE SUBJECT OF NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE U.5 ADMINISTRATION AND OTHER EXPORTING ECONOMIES ARE BY AND LARGE IRRELEVANT IN RELATION TO HONG KONG," HE SAID, NOTING THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAD SPARED NO EFFORT IN PUTTING ACROSS THIS MESSAGE AND IT WAS BEING RECEIVED AND UNDERSTOOD.
"AS I POINTED OUT IN MY BUDGET SPEECH, ALTHOUGH HONG KONG HAS BEEN RUNNING TRADE SURPLUSES WITH MANY OF OUR MAJOR MARKETS WE HAVE USED OUR EXPORT EARNINGS TO BUY WHAT WE NEED FROM OUR MAJOR SUPPLIERS, WITH MANY OF WHOM WE RUN LARGE TRADE DEFICITS.
WHAT MATTERS IS HONG KONG'S OVERALL TRADE BALANCE, BILATERAL TRADE BALANCES WITH INDIVIDUAL ECONOMIES. AND FOR FOUR YEARS OUR VISIBLE TRADE HAS BEEN VIRTUALLY IN BALANCE,
NOT ITS THE PAST HE SAID.
SPEAKING ABOUT THE MOVEMENT IN EXCHANGE RATES, MR JACOBS SAID THE LINKED EXCHANGE RATE SYSTEM INTRODUCED IN 1983 PROVIDED A MEASURE OF STABILITY AND CERTAINTY FOR HONG KONG BUSINESSMEN IN TERMS OF THE EXCHANGE RATE OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR AGAINST THE CURRENCY THAT WAS MOST WIDELY USED BY THEM FOR THEIR INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS, NAMELY THE U.S. DOLLAR.
THIS
"WITHOUT THE LARGE SWINGS IN THE EXCHANGE VALUE OF THE U.S. DOLLAR THAT HAVE BEEN SEEN IN RECENT YEARS, THE PATH OF THE HONG KONG ECONOMY WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY HAVE BEEN LESS CYCLICAL, AND FOR REASON WE WELCOME THE EFFORTS BEING MADE TO REDUCE THE VOLATILITY THE EXCHANGE RATES OF THE WORLD'S MAJOR CURRENCIES.
OF
"BUT WHATEVER HAPPENS, GIVEN OUR FLEXIBILITY AND THE FACT THAT OUR PRESENT SYSTEM IS SERVING US WELL, I SKE NO REASON FOR ANY MAJOR ALTERATION.
"IN THIS CONTEXT, THE RECENT INTRODUCTION OF NEW ACCOUNTING ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN THE EXCHANGE FUND AND THE HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION IS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING FOR SOME TIME. THE ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF THE LINKED EXCHANGE HATE SYSTEM ARE UNCHANGED," HE SAID.
EXPECTED
TURNING TO THE SECURITIES MARKETS, MR JACOBS SAID THE BULK OF THE SECURITIES REVIEW COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS ΤΟ BE
IMPLEMENTED WITHIN THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
"THERE ARE NOW CLEAR SIGNS THAT HONG KONG, THROUGH THE
COLLECTIVE EFFORTS OF ALL INVOLVED, CRASH WITH A BETTER REGULATED AND INVESTORS.
WILL EMERGE
STRUCTURALLY
FROM THE OCTOBER SOUND MARKET FOR
/"I AM