XN000022-1972-03-15 — Page 25

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Wednesday, March 15, 1972

He also advocated that some of the rigid conditions in the existing

Merchant Shipping Regulations which are based on the British Merchant Shipping

Act 1894 should be modified.

He pointed out that one of the most important of the difficulties which

Hong Kong owners were facing was the question of manning.

The regulations stipulate that five officers (the Master, Chief

Engineer, 2nd Engineer, Chief Officer and 2nd Officer) of every ship must be

of British nationality holding a Board of Trade Certificate.

"I have no doubt a fleet such as World-Wide will eventually get any

British officers that it may require but until a tradition of service has been

built up in this and other fleet owners are forced, if they register their

vessels as British ships, to accept whatever British Officers they can get."

Reserves Exceed Expenditure

Earlier in his speech, Mr. Wong said that for the first time Hong Kong's

total reserves would exceed one year's expenditure.

Official reserves stood at $2,513 million on March 31, 1971, plus a

Development Loan Fund of $874 million and an Exchange Fund based on 105 per cent

coverage of banknotes in circulation.

He added that bank deposits ending 1971 totalled $18,785 million and bank advances were $11,836 million, and the Colony's total reserves by April 1,

1972 should be about $3,923 million.

Mr. Wong described the 1972/73 Budget as "the biggest and the rosiest".

"It is the biggest because revenue and expenditure are both at a record

It is the rosiest because it not only reveals that our surplus is likely

to be in the neighbourhood of $700 million by March 31, 1972 but also predicts that the rate of economic growth will rally after 18 months time," he said.

high.

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