XN000022-1984-12-09 — Page 4

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1984

DURING THE MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS WITH SENIOR JAPANESE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND BUSINESSMEN, MEMBERS OF THE ECONOMIC MISSION WILL DISCUSS WAYS AND MEANS OF COMPLEMENTING AND HARMONISING THE COMMON OBJECTIVES OF THE HONG KONG-JAPAN AND JAPAN-HONG KONG COMMITTEES WHICH ARE +TO FOSTER FRIENDSHIP AND UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITIES OF HONG KONG AND JAPAN, AND TO SEEK TO PROMOTE AND/OR ASSIST IN PROMOTING TRADE, INVESTMENT AND OTHER ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION+.

MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG SAID IN 1981 THAT THE COMMITTEE SHOULD ENCOURAGE A MORE BALANCED EXPANSION OF THE TWO-WAY TRADE BETWEEN JAPAN AND HONG KONG.

IN 1983, HONG KONG'S TOTAL EXPORTS (DOMESTIC AND RE-EXPORTS) TO JAPAN AMOUNTED TO HK$7.09 BILLION WHILE IMPORTS AMOUNTED TO HK$40.3 BILLION, GIVING JAPAN A SURPLUS OF HK$33.25 BILLION. IN THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 1984, HONG KONG'S TRADE DEFICIT WITH JAPAN AMOUNTED TO HK$30.73 BILLION AGAINST HK$23.02 BILLION FOR THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD IN 1983.

LAST YEAR, HONG KONG RANKED AS JAPAN'S FIFTH LARGEST EXPORT MARKET IN THE WORLD, ABSORBING ABOUT 3.6 PER CENT OF ITS TOTAL EXPORTS IN 1983. ITS IMPORTANCE AS A MARKET FOR JAPAN IS GREATER THAN ALL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES OTHER THAN F.R. GERMANY. IN THE CURRENT YEAR, HONG KONG'S SIGNIFICANCE AS A MARKET FOR JAPAN HAS GROWN AND THE TERRITORY HAS OVERTAKEN SAUDI ARABIA TO BECOME THAT COUNTRY'S 4TH BIGGEST MARKET.

BESIDES SEEKING TO EXPAND HONG KONG'S MARKET SHARE IN JAPAN, THE MISSION ALSO HOPES TO ATTRACT MORE JAPANESE INVESTMENTS, ESPECIALLY IN HIGH-TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERS, IN HONG KONG'S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

SIR EDWARD YOUDE'S VISIT MAKES THIS THE SECOND TIME THAT A HONG KONG GOVERNOR HAS ACCOMPANIED AN ECONOMIC MISSION DESIGNED TO ENHANCE BILATERAL TRADE AND ECONOMIC TIES BETWEEN HONG KONG AND JAPAN.

IN NOVEMBER 1978, THE FORMER GOVERNOR, SIR (NOW LORD) MURRAY MACLEHOSE, ACCOMPANIED A SIMILAR HIGH LEVEL HONG KONG ECONOMIC MISSION WHICH WAS LED BY SIR Y.K. KAN, THE FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE HONG KONG TRADE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL. ON THAT OCCASION, IT WAS A PROPOSAL BY THE THEN FOREIGN MINISTER OF JAPAN, MR SONAO SONADA, THAT RESULTED IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HONG KONG-JAPAN AND JAPAN-HONG KONG BUSINESS CO-OPERATION COMMITTEES WHICH HAVE SUBSEQUENTLY CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO FURTHERING THE BILATERAL ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JAPAN AND HONG KONG.

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