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MONDAY, MARCH 18, 1991
1.
HK IS A BIG INCENTIVE TO INVESTORS
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THE DIRECTOR OF INDUSTRY, MR T.H. BARMA, HAS URGED
INVESTORS TO GRASP THE "GREAT OPPORTUNITIES' ASIA-PACIFIC REGION, PARTICULARLY HONG KONG.
마
OVERSEAS
OFFERED BY THE
IN A SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CEBIT FORUM "BUSINESS WITH HONG KONG" AT HANNOVER, GERMANY, MR BARMA SAID HONG KONG ITSELF WAS A BIG INCENTIVE TO POTENTIAL INVESTORS.
"WHILE THE OPENING UP OF EASTERN EUROPE, AND THE PROSPECTS OF THE SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET, HAVE OBVIOUSLY DISTRACTED EUROPEAN INVESTORS, IT WOULD BE A PITY IF THEY MISSED OUT ON THE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED
BY THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION, WHICH 18 NOT STANDING STILL.
"A NUMBER OF DEVELOPMENTS HAVE REINFORCED THE FACT THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING AREAS IN THE WORLD.
"HONG KONG, WITH ITS SOUND ECONOMIC FOUNDATION AND EXCELLENT BUSINESS INFRASTRUCTURE, FREE TRADE AND FREE ENTERPRISE POLICY, HARD-WORKING AND EFFICIENT LABOUR FORCE, LOW TAXATION RATE AND EXCELLENT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK HAS BEEN, AND WILL CONTINUE THE HUB FOR DOING BUSINESS IN THE ASIA PACIFIC.
"SO, HONG KONG IS THE OBVIOUS PARTNER FOR THE FUTURE,
MR BARMA SAID HONG KONG HAD, OVER THE PAST DECADES,
MANY INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS.
TO BE,
HE SAID.
ATTRACTED
ACCORDING TO THE LATEST SURVEY ON OVERSEAS INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG'S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES, TOTAL INVESTMENT FROM ALL SOURCES AT THE END OF 1989 WAS US$3,812 MILLION, 13.6 PER CENT UP FROM 1988 AND MORE THAN DOUBLE (260 PER CENT) THE FIGURE RECORDED IN 1984.
"INVESTMENT FROM EEC COUNTRIES HAS ALSO BEEN INCREASING STEADILY, AND THE VALUE OF GROSS ADDITIONS TO FIXED ASSETS IN 1989 BY EEC COUNTRIES (WHICH INCLUDES PURCHASES OF MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT, LAND AND BUILDINGS, AND OTHER ASSETS) AMOUNTED TO US$68 MILLION AND WAS 12.7 PER CENT HIGHER THAN THE VALUE RECORDED IN 1988 HE SAID.
11
ON HONG KONG'S ATTRACTIONS FOR OVERSEAS INVESTORS, MR BARMA SAID HONG KONG OCCUPIED A PIVOTAL POSITION AS A MAJOR FINANCIAL, COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CENTRE FOR THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION, AND ALSO THE GATEWAY TO CHINA.
WAS
HE SAID ALTHOUGH HONG KONG WAS SMALL AND HAD FEW NATURAL RESOURCES IT HAD BEEN THE SUCCESS STORY OF A FREE MARKET ECONOMY,
OF
"HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON EXPORT TRADE, HONG KONG PEOPLE HAVE EXCELLED IN THE PURSUIT OF SUCCESS, THROUGH A REMARKABLE DEGREE FLEXIBILITY IN A FAST CHANGING WORLD.
/"BOTH EMPLOYERS