WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1990
THEREBY "I HOPE THAT THE ROUND WILL ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVES AND
PARTNERS TO STAND UP FIRMLY ENABLE THE GOVERNMENTS OF OUR TRADING
OF HONG KONG AGAINST PROTECTIONIST PRESSURES. I KNOW THAT THE WHOLE JOINS ME IN THAT HOPE.
GIVEN
HONG
SITUATION I HAVE
IS SO
AND AND
OUTLINED,
OPEN SMALL,
QUANTITATIVE FOR A VERY
"IN THE MEANTIME, GIVEN THE
ECONOMY KONG'S THAT EXTERNALLY-ORIENTED, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT INDEED TO MAKE FORECASTS ABOUT OUR ECONOMIC PROSPECTS, SHORT TIME AHEAD.
EXCEPT
PERHAPS
"QUALITATIVELY, HOWEVER, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS
SAY WITH A GOOD DEAL OF CERTAINTY.
ONE CAN
SOUTHERN GATEWAY ΤΟ CHINA
"OUR GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AS THE AND AS THE HUB OF THE ENTIRE ASIA PACIFIC REGION WILL NEVER CHANGE.
AND
"OUR DEEP-WATER PORT, OUR EFFICIENT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK
A VERY LONG OUR INDUSTRIOUS WORKFORCE WILL BE THERE TO SERVE US FOR TIME.
"OUR COMMITMENT TO FREE TRADE AND FREE ENTERPRISE
THE NEXT UNCHANGED UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF BEYOND.
CENTURY,
AND PERHAPS
WILL REMAIN EVEN
"ABOVE ALL, HONG KONG WILL CONTINUE TO DEPEND HEAVILY ON TRADE, BE IT IN GOODS OR IN SERVICES, FOR A LIVING,'
I
MR CHAN SAID.
TOTAL
TO IMPORTS OF DIAMONDS AMOUNTED HE SAID IN 1989 OUR
11.2 PER CENT OVER US$1,654 MILLION, WHICH REPRESENTED A GROWTH OF 1988.
HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS OF DIAMONDS IN 1989 AMOUNTED MILLION, 43 PER CENT HIGHER THAN THE YEAR BEFORE.
ΤΟ US$653
BELGIUM WAS THE TERRITORY'S THIRD LARGEST SUPPLIER OF DIAMONDS, IMPORTS LAST DIAMOND PER CENT OF ITS TOTAL ACCOUNTING FOR 20.6 YEAR. INDEED, PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES AND PEARLS CONSTITUTED
IMPORTS FROM KONG'S TOTAL
BELGIUM, AS MUCH AS 56 PER CENT OF HONG MAKING IT BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT PRODUCT GROUP, HE SAID.
HONG KONG WAS ALSO ONE OF ARTICLES,
THE MANY
OF WORLD'S LARGEST EXPORTERS
WERE
WITH OF WHICH
MOUNTED JEWELLERY AND RELATED
VALUED AT U9$642 DIAMONDS. OUR DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF THESE ITEMS WERE MILLION IN 1989, AN INCREASE OF 11.7 PER CENT OVER 1988.
DESIGN
AND
SUPERB "SOPHISTICATED CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUSTAINED GROWTH IN HONG KONG'S PRODUCTS, MR CHAN SAID.
rt
CRAFTSMANSHIP
HAVE EXPORTS OF THESE
"OUR ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT IN THE WORLD DIAMOND TRADE IS
AS AN INTERNATIONAL OF THE MANY FACETS OF HONG KONG'S STATUS CENTRE. BEING ALMOST TOTALLY DEVOID OF NATURAL RESOURCES,
HE SAID. BY FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES, LIVES BY TRADE,
BUT
HONG
ONE TRADE KONG,
17