XN000022-1983-04-22 — Page 5

FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 1983

IN ALL EXISTING BUILDINGS, WHERE THESE INSTALLATION ARRANGEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN MADE, GAS USERS ARE REMINDED OF THE NEED TO OPEN THEIR BATHROOM WINDOWS OR DOORS WIDE TO PREVENT A DANGEROUS BUILD-UP OF CARBON MONOXIDE.

+BETTER STILL, TO SAFEGUARD THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES, WITHOUT ANYONE EVER HAVING TO REMEMBER THE OPEN WINDOW RULE, GAS USERS ARE ADVISED TO FIT ONE OF THE NEW RANGE OF REPLACEMENT WATER HEATERS WHICH HAVE BEEN SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR USE IN HONG KONG, HE ADDED.

THESE HEATERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH TOWN GAS AND LP GAS DEALERS AND ARE ALL APPROVED AS SAFE BY THE GAS ADVISER'S OFFICE.

IN MOST CASES THEY CAN BE FITTED WITH VERY LITTLE INCONVENIENCE TO THE CUSTOMER. IN THE CASE OF SOME TOWN GAS APPLIANCES, CONVERSION KIT CAN BE USED.

HONG KONG'S REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENTS IN PAST DECADE

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THE DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENTS ACHIEVED BY HONG KONG IN THE PAST DECADE WERE HIGHLIGHTED TODAY (FRIDAY) BY THE SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, MR E.P. HO WHEN HE REVIEWED THE GROWTH IN THE TRADE AND INDUSTRY ́SCENE AND THE DEVELOPMENT IN THE TRADE, INDUSTRY AND CUSTOMS DEPARTMENTS WHICH HE HAS REJOINED AFTER 10 YEARS.

ADDRESSING THE ANNUAL DINNER OF THE INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF HONG KONG, MR HO RECALLED THAT THE OLD COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT, WHEN HE LEFT IN SEPTEMBER 1973, HAD ONLY 1 871 POSTS.

+TODAY THE TRADE, INDUSTRY AND CUSTOMS DEPARTMENTS HAVE A TOTAL ESTABLISHMENT OF 4 112 POSTS, AN INCREASE OF 2 241 OR 120 PER CENT. MAY I ADD THAT MY BRANCH HAS A FURTHER 24 POSTS INCLUDING MINE TO CONTRIBUTE, HE SAID.

+IN EXPENDITURE TERMS, THE OLD C AND I DEPARTMENT ACTUALLY SPENT $33.9 MILLION IN 1973/4. IN THE 1983/4 DRAFT ESTIMATES THE THREE DEPARTMENTS HAVE TOTAL PROVISIONS FOR $274 MILLION OR AN INCREASE OF SOME 700 PER CENT.+

ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE, HE NOTED THAT IN 1972, HONG KONG'S POSITION IN WORLD TRADE LEAGUE TABLE WAS NO. 23, WITH A TOTAL VALUE OF US$7 343 MILLION WORTH OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS, OR 0.9 PER CENT OF THE WORLD TOTAL.

IN 1981, THE LATEST YEAR FOR WHICH WE HAVE FIGURES, WE HAVE MOVED UP TO 18TH PLACE WITH A TOTAL TRADE VALUE OF

OVER THE US$46 600 MILLION OR 1.2 PER CENT OF THE WORLD TOTAL. SAME PERIOD HONG KONG'S GDP PER CAPITA WENT UP FROM US$980 IN 1972 TO US$4 766 IN 1981, AN INCREASE OF 386 PER CENT.

/+PUT IN