XN000022-1981-11-17 — Page 17

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To sum up, we have come comparatively well through a period made difficult largely by external influences. Insofar as the problems have been domestic or self-inflicted, they appear to be slowly correcting. Of course there is the shadow of the new M.F.A., and the state of the economies of our major markets make a depressing background for negotiation. But we have learnt that demand for Hong Kong goods can be sustained in countries whose economies are recessed particularly, as at present, when stocks are uniformly low, and that provided we can maintain access we can sell. Moreover we can take encouragement from the OPEC decision. on oil prices, and the reduction of interest rates in the U.S., as well as the significant rise in our imports of raw materials and semi-manufactures. So all in all I am quietly hopeful that our growth will continue in the year ahead, and that the pressures of inflation will relax, and the opportunities for work increase.

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