XN000022-1973-01-24 — Page 17

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Wednesday, January 24, 1973

"Because Hong Kong is so small it is hard to realise how great

an influence it has on trade. Its visible foreign trade for instance,

is 2/3 that of Australia and 1 1/3 times bigger than that of India and

it is the 21st largest trading unit in the world.

"Quite apart from visible trade it generates an extraordinary

amount of business activity which does not show in its trade figures. To

take an example; in the last ten years Hong Kong residents have placed in

Japan orders for over 20 million tone of shipping, and by 1982 they may

place orders for another 30 million tons. Excluding shipping, last year

the trade between Japan and Hong Kong approached US$ 1,000 million.

Increasing Demand

""The industry of Hong Kong has developed rapidly and the quality of

its products has steadily improved. This has produced an increasing demand

for more sophisticated capital equipment and for semi-processed industrial

materials. This demand Japan has been able to meet to our mutual benefit.

In addition, the steady growth of the economy and the rising standard of

living of the people of Hong Kong have produced a rising demand for such

Japanese products as cameras, refrigerators, television sets and motor

cars. In 1972 Japanese exports to Hong Kong amounted to about US$ 880 million.

"Trade in the reverse direction from Hong Kong to Japan has not

been so dramatic, and amounted last year to US$ 84 million. Through our

Trade Development Council office in Tokyo and the rigour of our exporters we are

trying to correct this. There are many Hong Kong products which could

sell well in Japan to the satisfaction of consumers and without damage to

Japanese manufacturers.

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