18
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 1993
INVESTORS MR LAN SAID THE GENERAL CONFIDENCE OF THE PUBLIC AND REMAINED STRONG, THIS WAS EVIDENCED BY THE FACT THAT HONG KONG HAD MAINTAINED ITS POSITION AS THE WORLD'S 10TH LARGEST TRADING ENTITY, 20 PER CENT WITH TOTAL TRADE VALUED AT US$240 BILLION, MORE THAN HIGHER THAN IN 1991.
HE ADDED
THAT
HAD BEEN INVESTORS JAPANESE BUSINESSMEN AND IMPRESSED BY THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PROPERTY AND STOCK MARKETS IN HONG STRENGTH OF KONG,
WHICH WAS ANOTHER INDICATOR OF THE RESILIENCE AND THE HONG KONG ECONOMY.
URUGUAY ROUND PARTICIPANTS URGED TO EXERCISE POLITICAL WILL
**
ON
AS A SEPARATE CONTRACTING PARTY TO THE GENERAL AGREEMENT TARIFFS AND TRADE (GATT), HONG KONG WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY AN ACTIVE AND RESPONSIBLE PART IN PUSHING THE URUGUAY ROUND ΤΟ A SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION, THE SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, MR T H CHAU, SAID IN BANGKOK TODAY (THURSDAY),
SPEAKING AT
THE 49TH SESSION OF THE UN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (ESCAP), MR CHAU SAID THAT ROUND WAS FAR TOO IMPORTANT TO WORLD TRADE AND ECONOMIC PROGRESS FOR IT TO BE SCUTTLED AFTER MORE THAN SIX YEARS OF WORK BY OVER 100 TRADING
PARTNERS.
THEIR
HE CALLED ON ALL URUGUAY ROUND PARTICIPANTS TO EXERCISE POLITICAL WILL AND APPROACH THE RENEWED NEGOTIATIONS WITH POLITICAL COURAGE SO THAT WE MIGHT OVERCOME THE FINAL REMAINING HURDLES.
MR CHAU WAS ENCOURAGED BY THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE UNITED STATES ADMINISTRATION HAD SUBMITTED A BILL TO THE U.S. CONGRESS TO SEEK 'FAST TRACK' NEGOTIATING AUTHORITY WITH A VIEW TO CONCLUDING THE URUGUAY ROUND NEGOTIATIONS BY MID-DECEMBER THIS YEAR.
"I VERY MUCH HOPE THAT THE U.S. CONGRESS WILL QUICKLY APPROVE THIS NEGOTIATING AUTHORITY AND THAT THE UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, THE WORLD'S TWO LARGEST TRADING ENTITIES, WILL PROVIDE THE LEADERSHIP REQUIRED FOR THE ROUND TO BE CONCLUDED SPEEDILY,
||
ON REGIONAL ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION, MR CHAU SAID THE ECONOMIC WELLBEING OF HONG KONG AND COUNTRIES IN THE ESCAP REGION COULD NOT BE DIVORCED FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD.
IN
"REGIONAL ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION, WHETHER IT IS WITHIN ESCAP OR THE CONTEXT OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION (APEC), CANNOT TAKE THE PLACE OF THE MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM WHICH IS REPRESENTED BY THE GATT, MR CHAU SAID.
"WHILE PARTICIPATING ACTIVELY IN REGIONAL FORUMS, HONG KONG VERY MUCH SEES REGIONAL ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AS COMPLEMENTARY TO AN OPEN MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM.
"THE GÅTT .....................