XN000022-1976-03-29 — Page 10

PA 33

K

H

GIS

香港政府

新聞處

DAILY INFORMATION BULLETIN

SUPPLEMENT

Monday, March 29, 1976

GOVERNMENT'S FISCAL AND ECONOMIC POLICIES EXPLAINED

The following is the full text of the speech by the Financial

Secretary, Mr. Philip Haddon-Cave, at the Hong Kong Cotton Spinners Association

lunch:

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Last time I had the pleasure of lunching with you in late 1972 I

J

think it was

I spoke about the role, as I saw it, of the press in the process

of government in Hong Kong. I had intended to revert to this subject' today

for the role of the press in developing an understanding of the many issues

facing us and in providing a critical, but objective, stream of commentary on

the Government's management of our affairs, based on conscientious homework, is

more important today than ever before. But, instead, Mr. Chairman, I feel

constrained to respond to your introductory remarks.

I assume you were specifically referring to cotton spinning as such

although your Association's articles were amended in 1967 to provide that cotton

shall be deemed to include man-made fibres. Now, admittedly, imports of grey

cotton yarns have been rising steadily from 21 million pounds in 1965 to 189

million pounds in 1975, or from 7% of apparent consumption of 278 million

pounds in 1965 to 34% of apparent consumption of 557 million pounds in 1975.

/In fact,

Issued by Government Information Services, Beaconsfield House, Hong Kong. Tel: 5-233191

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