XN000022-1976-03-29 — Page 12

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consistent with economic reality. This is not to say, that the Director of

Commerce and Industry will not listen to any well documented cese you may be

able to assemble which indicates that particular suppliers are indulging in

unfair trading practices and I mean unfair in terms of GATT rules and not

in the sense that they are simply price competitive. Even then, the Government

would have to consider, very carefully, whether it was in the interests of

Hong Kong as a whole to seek to protect one sector of one industry.

I must confess I am disappointed that you did not, Mr. Chairman,

balance your analysis of the factors having what you described as "an adverse

impact on industry" with an analysis of the many favourable factors present

here, of which the Government's 1976 budget is only one. You made a generous

reference to the budget, for which I am grateful, though I would like to

and stress forcibly that the Government's fiscal and economic

stress

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policies are designed to secure the highest possible growth rate of the

economy as a whole and, to this end, our focus is on the rate of investment

generally irrespective of its source. But returning for a moment to your

"dverse factors" Mr. Ch.irman: I cannot accept that they are all that

adverse. Take electricity charges for example: for medium size industrial/

commercial undert kings, electricity charges are lower in Malaysia than in

Hong Kong, but they are higher in Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom;

and, whilst for large size undertakings, electricity charges are also lover

in Malaysia than in Hong Kong, they are about the same in Hong Kong as in

Singapore and in the United Kingdom and Fre lower here than in Australia.

Ag-in, you said, Mr. Chairman, that water charges are "escalating, but they

have not been raised since the two stage increase to 4 per 1,000 gallons

announced in