250
UNITED KINGDOM TRADE COMMISSIONER
P.0. Box No. 528
"UK TRADE HONGKONG"
306 Queen's Building,
Hong Kong. 21st March 1949.
R/171/52/48
0.T.B. 115
The Under-Secretary,
Commercial Relations & Export Dept.,
Board of Trade,
Millbank, London, S.W.1.
Sir,
Hong Kong Governor's Annual
Report for 1948.
Lon
speech in Req. Co presentation.
Budget
I have the honour to send three copies of the above, delivered on 15th March 1949.
The salient points, which I summarise for your attention, appear to be:
1..
The year had been a record one for trade and the theme of the speech revolved round that factor since Hong Kong is essentially an entrepot.
2. The total value of Imports and Exports of £229,000,000. (Sterling) showed an increase of approximately 32% over the equivalent 1947 figure.
3. Trade with China had shown an unfortunate decline although she is the Colony's principal customer.
4. Industry. Increased competition in foreign markets had made the year a difficult one. New manufactures intro- duced during the period under review were: cotton spin- ning, metallurgical industries, plastics and the manufacture of textile machinery for local use. Generally speaking, the long term view on industry is uncertain.
5.
Symptomatic of the year were the following:
In 1947 18,990,420 tons of shipping were handled, hereas for 1948 this had risen to 22,400,750 tons.
(a)
$1
Twentyfive thousand air passengers arrived and departed every month from Kai Tak.
(b)
(c) In carrying nearly 3 million passengers, the railway showed a passenger increase of 34% over 1947 and 31% over 1936.
(d) Handling in excess of 1,000 bags of mail daily, the Post Office showed an increase of 44% over 1947 in ordinary mail and of 33 1/3% in airmail. Stamps sales, at close to $10,000,000., were nearly 30% over 1947.
6.
Insofar as Agriculture and Fisheries were concerned, there had been mutual benefit to producer and consumer, thus the wholesale vegetable market in increasing its sales from 455,000 to 537,000 piculs had presented a reduced average price to the consumer of $14.64 a picul against the 1947 figure of $16.10. About 40% of the Colony's salt dried fish was exported, bringing in some 4 million dollars.
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