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THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1990
TN HIS ADDRESS ON "HONG KONG IN THE
1990s: RISK OR MAJOR CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE INVITATION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT UNDER A MONTH-LONG INTERNATIONAL VISITORS PROGRAMME, DISCUSSED THE CURRENT AND PROJECTED FUTURE BUSINESS CLIMATE IN HONG KONG AND OTHER RELATED ISSUES.
OPPORTUNITY?" MR LEUNG WHO IS TOURING
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HE SAID HONG KONG'S ECONOMY HAD ALWAYS BEEN HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON EXTERNAL TRADE. ITS TRULY OPEN ECONOMY HAD LED IT'S TRADING POSITION TO ADVANCE TO THE 11TH PLACE BOTH AS AN EXPORTER AND AN IMPORTER.
HE SAID IN 1989 HONG KONG'S TOTAL TRADE WAS EQUIVALENT ΤΟ 231 PER CENT OF ITS ESTIMATED GDP. IN THE PERIOD FROM 1986 TO 1989 HONG KONG'S TOTAL TRADE WITH THE UNITED STATES GREW BY 73.5 PER CENT IN MONEY TERMS WHILE THE CORRESPONDING FIGURE FOR U.S IMPORTS INTO HONG KONG REACHED A HIGHER GROWTH OF 99 PER CENT.
REGIONALLY, MR LEUNG SAID, HONG KONG WAS PLAYING A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC. HE SAID THERE WERE OVER 4,000 OVERSEAS COMPANIES IN HONG KONG AND AMONG THEM WERE MANY REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS, OVER 130 LICENSED BANKS, NEARLY 160 REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES OF FOREIGN BANKS AND MORE THAN 600 MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS WITH OVERSEAS INTERESTS.
MR LEUNG SAID HONG KONG'S PIVOTAL IMPORTANCE WAS ALSO HIGHLIGHTED BY THE EXTENT OF U.S. AND JAPANESE INVESTMENT IN HONG
KONG,
TOTAL U.S. INVESTMENT IN 1988 WAS THE LARGEST IN THE REGION, ACCOUNTING FOR 27 PER CENT OF THE U.S. TOTAL AND REPRESENTING AN INCREASE OF 28.5 PER CENT IN MONEY TERMS FROM US$3.9 BILLION IN 1986 TO US$5 BILLION IN 1988. DURING THIESE TWO YEARS JAPAN HAD ALSO INCREASED ITS INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG BY 231 PER CENT.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FACILITIES,
"WITH HIGHLY DEVELOPED CONVENIENT AND EFFICIENT TRANSPORT CONNECTIONS WITH ALL THE MAJOR COMMERCIAL CENTERS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC, AND AN INFRASTRUCTURE WELL-GEARED FOR BUSINESS, HONG KONG IS AN IDEAL REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BASE, HE SAID.
AS EXAMPLES OF HOW HONG KONG WAS KEEPING UP WITH THE LATEST TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY, MR LEUNG TOLD HIS AUDIENCE THAT IT WAS THE FIRST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO INTRODUCE DATAFAX, A SERVICE WHICH ENABLES SUBSCRIBERS TO SEND FAX MESSAGES DIRECT FROM THEIR PERSONAL COMPUTERS TO ANY FAX MACHINE LOCALLY THROUGH THE PUBLIC PACKET SWITCHED SERVICE WITH NO ADDITIONAL HARDWARE. HONG KONG WAS ALSO THE FIRST TO INTRODUCE SUPERTELEX WHICH SENDS TELEXES THROUGH A PERSONAL COMPUTER AND WAS AMONG THE FIRST IN THE FAR BAST ΤΟ OFFER PUBLIC VIDEO-CONFERENCING.
TURNING TO HONG KONG'S CHINA DIMENSION, MR LEUNG SAID HONG KONG HAD PROVIDED MUCH OF THE CAPITAL THAT HAD FLOWED INTO THAT COUNTRY IN RECENT YEARS, ESPECIALLY SOUTHERN CHINA.
/BETWEEN 1979