XN000022-1978-02-16 — Page 4

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1978

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+APART FROM A LIMITED NUMBER OF QUESTIONS REQUIRING ANSWERS IN QUANTITATIVE TERMS, THE FIRMS IN THE SURVEY WERE ASKED TO COMPARE THE FOURTH QUARTER JUST PAST WITH THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND SIMILARLY FOR THE FORTHCOMING ONE,+ THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

+THEY ONLY HAD TO INDICATE WHETHER, IN THEIR OPINION, A CERTAIN VARIABLE WAS UP, SAME OR DOWN.*

THE SPOKESMAN CAUTIONED THAT IN A SURVEY OF THIS NATURE, CONSIDERABLE RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE IN THE INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS, AS IT WAS DIFFICULT TO ESTABLISH THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE RESPONDENTS' PERCEPTION OF THE PAST AND THE FUTURE ACCORDS WITH THE UNDERLYING TRENDS.

COPIES OF THE REPORT, CONTAINING AN ANALYSIS AND STATISTICAL TABLES ON VARIOUS ECONOMIC VARIABLES, HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO FIRMS TAKING PART IN THE SURVEY AND OTHER BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS.

KCR GENERAL MANAGER TO TAKE UP NEW POST

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MR. R.E. GREGORY, WHO HAS BEEN GENERAL MANAGER OF THE KOWLOON- CANTON RAILWAY SINCE APRIL 1974, WILL BE LEAVING HONG KONG TOWARDS THE END OF THIS MONTH TO TAKE UP A NEW POST IN BOTSWANA.

BEFORE COMING TO HONG KONG, MR. GREGORY, WHO IS 48, HAD WORKED FOR BRITISH RAIL FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS.

THE BOTSWANA GOVERNMENT HAVE ASKED BRITISH RAIL TO TAKE OVER THE MANAGEMENT OF THEIR RAILWAY, AN 800-KILOMETRE LINK BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA AND RHODESIA, AND BRITISH RAIL HAVE REQUESTED THE URGENT RELEASE OF MR. GREGORY TO TAKE UP THE POST OF GENERAL MANAGER OF THAT RAILWAY. THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT HAVE AGREED TO THIS REQUEST.

IT IS EXPECTED THAT A REPLACEMENT FOR MR. GREGORY AS GENERAL MANAGER OF THE KCR WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN THE NEAR FUTURE.