TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 1994
HE SAID: "FIRST IT MEANS THAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE OPENING UP OF THE LARGEST UNSATURATED MARKET ANYWHERE ON THE SURFACE OF THE GLOBE; SECOND, IT MEANS THAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT A PART OF THE WORLD WHICH IS EXPERIENCING PHENOMENALLY RAPID RATES OF GROWTH.
"THIRD, IT MEANS THAT YOU ARE LOOKING NOT ONLY AT A PART OF THE WORLD WHICH IS PRODUCING LARGE QUANTITIES OF CONSUMER GOODS FOR SALE IN WESTERN MARKETS, BUT ALSO AT DEVELOPING ECONOMIES, WHICH ARE BOTH HUNGRY FOR INVESTMENT IN UPGRADING THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING TELECOMMUNICATIONS, AND HAVE THE WHEREWITHAL TO PAY FOR IT.
"FOURTH,
THE
IT MEANS THAT IN HONG KONG YOU HAVE CONCENTRATED LARGEST NUMBER OF CHINA TRADE EXPERTS IN THE WORLD, PEOPLE WHO KNOW WHAT CHINA NEEDS AND WHERE, KNOW ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA AND ARE HAPPY TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU.
"AND LAST, IT MEANS THAT IN HONG KONG, WITH ITS FREE PORT, LOW TAXES, OPEN MARKET, FAMILIAR LEGAL SYSTEM, EXCELLENT COMMUNICATIONS AND OTHER COMMERCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE, YOU HAVE THE PERFECT PLACE TO DO BUSINESS NOT ONLY WITH CHINA, BUT THE REST OF ASIA AS WELL," HE SAID.
CONSUMER PRICE INDICES FOR MAY 1994
THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) IN MAY THIS YEAR WAS 7.8% HIGHER THAN IN MAY 1993, ACCORDING TO FIGURES RELEASED TODAY (TUESDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
THIS WAS BROADLY SIMILAR TO THE CORRESPONDING INCREASE OF 7.7%
IN APRIL.
TAKING THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS TOGETHER, THE CPI(A) ROSE BY OVER THE SAME PERIOD IN 1993. THIS WAS CONSIDERABLY LOWER THAN INCREASE OF 8.7% RECORDED IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 1993 AND AVERAGE ANNUAL INCREASE OF 8.5% FOR 1993 AS A WHOLE.
7.5%
THE
THE
THE CPI(B) AND THE HANG SENG CPI WERE HIGHER BY 8.4% AND 10.0% RESPECTIVELY IN MAY 1994 THAN IN THE SAME MONTH LAST YEAR. THE CORRESPONDING INCREASES IN APRIL 1994 WERE 8.2% AND 9.9%.
THE COMPOSITE CPI, WHICH IS COMPILED BASED ON THE COMBINED EXPENDITURE PATTERN OF HOUSEHOLDS COVERED BY THE THREE CPIS, SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 8.6% IN MAY 1994 OVER THE SAME MONTH IN 1993. THIS WAS SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN THE CORRESPONDING INCREASE OF 8.4% IN APRIL.
COMPARING MAY 1994 WITH MAY 1993, RELATIVELY SLOWER PRICE INCREASES THAN THE OVERALL AVERAGE WERE RECORDED FOR FUEL AND LIGHT (2.6% IN BOTH CPI(A) AND CPI(B)); FOOD (EXCLUDING MEALS AT RESTAURANTS} (2.7% IN THE CPI(A) AND 3.4% IN THE CP1 (B)); DURABLE GOODS (3.0% AND 3.2%); ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO (5.4% AND 6.1%); AND MISCELLANEOUS GOODS (6.0% AND 5.3%).
/ON THE
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