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China's modernisation has opened up a whole new era for
Hong Kong's entrepot trade on which we lived until an embargo was imposed
as a result of the Korean war.
In looking to the future, most outsiders ask what will happen
in 1997 when the New Territories lease expires. Well, nobody knows,
Deng Xiaopeng has said firmly that investors should put their hearts at ease.
The Chinese clearly do not regard this as an urgent issue, neither do we.
The short-term is much more worrying. Last year, nearly
this year.
200 000 immigrants came in from China. The rate of flow is as high as
A six per cent annual population growth will impose quite staggering
pressure on all social services, particularly on housing. The building industry
is going to need more than just money to increase its output.
On the other hand our industry is healthy. In spite of protection-
ist policies domestic exports continue to grow rapidly. In addition, banking
and financial services are increasingly being used for offshore transactions
as well as internal financing.
The service sector is growing at the expense of manufacturing.
The entrepot trade is now reappearing with every sign of long-term sustained
growth. Looking further ahead still, it seems probable that Hong Kong will
be involved in China's exploitation of offshore oil.
So one way or another it looks as if we are in for a busy time.
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