XN000022-1983-06-06 — Page 3

MONDAY, JUNE 6, 1983

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+OVERALL ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF HONG KONG'S EXPORTS OF TEXTILES AND CLOTHING ARE COVERED BY RESTRAINT AGREEMENTS UNDER THE MFA. THUS AN INCREASE IN PART OF A YEAR IS SIMPLY IRRELEVANT OVER THE YEAR AS A WHOLE THERE IS A KNOWN LIMIT TO THE EXTENT OF IMPORTS FROM HONG KONG, HE REMARKED.

REFERRING TO THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, MR MACLEOD CITED THE FINDINGS OF TWO STUDIES TO SUBSTANTIATE HONG KONG'S CLAIM THAT THE DECREASE IN EMPLOYMENT IN TEXTILES AND CLOTHING IS NOT ATTRIBUTABLE TO IMPORTS FROM FING KONG.

+THE FIRST IS A STUDY WHICH SHOWED THAT BETWEEN 1973 AND 1979 THE PRODUCTION OF TEXTILES IN THE EEC FELL BY ONLY FOUR PER CENT, AND OF CLOTHING BY ONLY ONE PER CENT. BUT EMPLOYMENT FELL BY 23 PER CENT AND 21 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. THE MAIN REASON WAS A 25 PER CENT RISE IN OUTPUT PER MAN IN BOTH INDUSTRIES.

+KY SECOND EXAMPLE RELATES TO THE UK. A REPORT BY THE BRITISH TEXTILE FEDERATION SHOWS THAT THE MAIN SOURCE OF THE INCREASE IN IMPORTS HAS BEEN AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE EEC.

-- AS THE +TIMES+ COMMENTED ON THIS REPORT: 'ADVANCED COUNTRIES SIMPLY TOOK UP THE SLACK THAT DEVELOPING NATIONS COULD NOT EXPLOIT DUE TO MFA QUOTAS'.

+1 HOPE I HAVE HELPED TO UNDERLINE THE FACT THAT, SUCCESSFUL AS HONG KONG HAS BEEN IN WORLD TRADE, OUR EXPORTS DO NOT REALLY POSE A SERIOUS THREAT TO ANYONE, IF LOOKED AT OBJECTIVELY AND IN RELATION TO THE TOTAL CONSUMPTION IN EACH MARKET,+ MR MACLEOD CONCLUDED.

39 BUILDING PLANS APPROVED IN APRIL

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THIRTY-NINE NEW BUILDING PLANS WERE APPROVED BY THE BUILDINGS ORDINANCE OFFICE OF THE BUILDING DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IN APRIL THIS YEAR, COMPARED WITH 59 IN APRIL LAST YEAR.

OF THESE NEW PLANS, NINE WERE FOR NEW BUILDINGS ON HONG KONG ISLAND. EIGHT FOR KOWLOÓN AND 22 FOR THE NEW TERRITORIES.

THEY INCLUDE TWO SCHOOLS IN KENNEDY ROAD AND KWAI SHING CIRCUIT, THE EXTENSION TO THE HOME FOR THE AGED PEOPLE AT TUNG LO WAN HILL ROAD, SHA TIN, AN ELECTRICITY SUB-STATION IN YUEN LONG AND TWO PETROL FILLING STATIONS IN MUI WO, LANTAU ISLAND AND HONG LOK YUEN, TAI PO.

THE DECLARED COST OF ALL THE NEW BUILDINGS COMPLETED DURING THE MONTH WAS $1 437.6 MILLION, COMPARED WITH $676.2 MILLION IN APRIL LAST YEAR.

THE USABLE FLOOR AREA OF NEW BUILDINGS TOTALLED 355 032.5 SQUARE METRES, COMPRISING 161 483.7 SQUARE METRES OF NON-DOMESTIC AND 193 548.8 SQUARE METRES OF DOMESTIC FLOOR AREA.

/IN THE