XN000022-1984-12-11 — Page 7

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1984'

IMPORTANCE OF ACCORD STRESSED ******

THE SINO-BRITISH AGREEMENT ON THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG WAS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO HONG KONG PEOPLE AND OF CONSIDERABLE SIGNIFICANCE TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, THE GOVERNOR, SIR EDWARD YOUDE, SAID TONIGHT.

THE GOVERNOR WAS SPEAKING AT A DINNER HE HOSTED AT HOTEL OKURA IN TOKYO ON BEHALF OF THE HONG KONG ECONOMIC MISSION TO JAPAN,

BY PROVIDING FOR CONTINUITY IN HONG KONG'S LEGAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SYSTEMS FOR 50 YEARS BEYOND 1997, THE AGREEMENT OFFERED INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS FROM JAPAN AND ELSEWHERE THE PROSPECT OF STABILITY FROM WHICH THEY COULD, WITH CONFIDENCE PARTICIPATE IN ITS FUTURE DEVELOPMENT, IN THE DEVELOPMENT TAKING PLACE THROUGHOUT THE REGION AND IN CHINA'S MODERNISATION, SIR EDWARD SAID.

+THIS PROSPECT, TOGETHER WITH THE ATTRACTIONS OF HONG KONG'S FREE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM AND ITS EXCELLENT COMMERCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE, WILL. I HOPE LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN JAPANESE INVESTMENT IN THE TERRITORY, THUS STRENGTHENING THE CLOSE AND MUTUAL BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP WHICH HAS LONG EXISTED BETWEEN OUR TWO ECONOMIES, + HE SAID.

TRADE, THE GOVERNOR SAID, WAS IMPORTANT TO THIS RELATIONSHIP AND IT WAS GRATIFYING TO NOTE THAT BILATERAL TRADE BETWEEN JAPAN AND HONG KONG HAD GROWN AT A RATE OF 39 PER CENT IN THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF THIS YEAR.

HONG KONG RANKED AS JAPAN'S FOURTH LARGEST EXPORT MARKET IN THE WORLD A REMARKABLE STATISTIC IF HONG KONG'S SIZE WAS CONSIDERED COMPARED WITH SOME OF JAPAN'S OTHER MAJOR TRADING PARTNERS, SIR EDWARD SAID.

JAPAN WAS LIKEWISE, VITALLY IMPORTANT TO HONG KONG, NOT ONLY AS HONG KONG'S FIFTH LARGEST EXPORT MARKET, BUT ALSO AS THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF EXPORTS.

+ IN SHORT, THE TWO EGONOMIES HAVE A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP, AND IT IS CLEARLY IN OUR COMMON INTEREST TO WORK TOGETHER TO NURTURE AND DEVELOP THIS RELATIONSHIP IN THE FUTURE,+ HE SAID.

THE JAPAN-HONG KONG AND HONG KONG-JAPAN BUSINESS COOPERATION COMMITTEES HAD AN IMPORTANT ROLE TO PLAY IN THIS, HE SAID, PAYING TRIBUTE TO THEM FOR THE IR ACHIEVEMENTS.

WHILE PROGRESS WAS BEING MADE IN EASING ACCESS FOR HONG KONG EXPORTS TO JAPAN, HONG KONG'S SHARE OF THE JAPANESE MARKET WAS STILL ONLY 0.5 PER CENT.

+THIS FIGURE IS EXCEEDINGLY LOW AND WE MUST CONTINUE TO TAKE POSITIVE ACTION TO IMPROVE IT, SIR EDWARD SAID.

HONG KONG