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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1990
HONG KONG PROVIDED CAPITAL, TECHNICAL AND MANAGERIAL SKILLS, DESIGN, MARKET KNOWLEDGE AND COMMERCIAL CONNECTIONS.
FOR OTHER FOREIGN INVESTORS, HONG KONG ALSO PROVIDED THE KNOW- HOW REQUIRED FOR GETTING AN ENTERPRISE OFF THE GROUND.
HE SAID THESE TRADING LINKS HAD BROUGHT HONG KONG AND CHINA CLOSER AND CLOSER TOGETHER.
"JUST OVER 10 YEARS AGO, THE ONLY WAY INTO CHINA WAS то WALK ACROSS THE RAILWAY BRIDGE AT LO WU.
"TODAY, THE TRAVELLER AND BUSINESSMAN CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN RAPID ROAD. RAIL, AIR AND RIVER LINKS. ON ANY DAY, SOME 14,000 VEHICLES CROSS THE BORDER VIA THREE DIFFERENT ROUTES," SIR DAVID SAID.
LAST YEAR FROM HONG KONG, WITH A POPULATION OF SOME SIX MILLION PEOPLE, THERE WERE MORE THAN 15 MILLION VISITS TO CHINA.
HAD
SIR DAVID POINTED OUT THAT ITALIAN POPULATION IN HONG KONG DOUBLED OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS AND 14 ITALIAN BANKS WERE REPRESENTED IN HONG KONG; SEVEN OF THESE HAD FULL BANKING LICENCES.
"THEY COME BECAUSE THEY SEE IT AS THE RIGHT PLACE TO DO BUSINESS IN ASIA. NOWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD, APART FROM NEW YORK AND LONDON, HAS BROADER BANKING REPRESENTATION, HE SAID.
NOTING THAT ITALIAN ENTREPRENEURS HAD INVESTED ABOUT L3.5 BILLION (US$3 MILLION) IN MANUFACTURING IN HONG KONG, SIR DAVID SAID: "THEY
ARE WELCOME AS ALL FOREIGN INVESTORS ARE WELCOME, NOT JUST FOR THE CAPITAL, BUT BECAUSE THEY BRING WITH THEM THE UPGRADING OF TECHNOLOGY AND DIVERSIFICATION OF PRODUCTS.
THE GOVERNOR SAID ITALIAN BUSINESSMEN HAD ALSO FOUND THAT HONG KONG PEOPLE WERE DEVELOPING A TASTE FOR HIGH QUALITY CONSUMER GOODS.
"THIS IS PERHAPS NOT SURPRISING WHEN PER CAPITA INCOME IS AMONGST THE HIGHEST IN ASIA AND HIGHER THAN SEVERAL MEMBERS OF. THE OECD (L14 MILLION).
"ALMOST EVERYTHING WE BUY FROM EUROPE, AND FROM ITALY IN PARTICULAR, IS AT THE TOP END OF THE MARKET. BRAND-NAME LEATHER GOODS, JEWELRY, TEXTILES, APPAREL, CLOTHING ACCESSORIES, FURNITURE AND CERAMICS HEAD THE LIST. BUT OFFICE MACHINES AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT ARE ALSO IMPORTANT, SIR DAVID SAID.
LAST YEAR,
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THE AVERAGE PERSON IN HONG KONG IMPORTED ITALIAN GOODS WORTH NEARLY L250,000.
HE SAID THIS WAS 10 TIMES THE COMPARABLE FIGURE FOR JAPAN; MORE SIX TIMES THAT FOR THE UNITED STATES; AND MORE THAN THREE TIMES THAT FOR AUSTRALIA AND CANADA.
THAN
/BILATERAL TRADE