XN000022-1986-10-11 — Page 5

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ASKED ABOUT THE SETTING UP OF A YOUNG OFFENDERS AUTHORITY, SIR DAVID SAID IT WAS BEING LOOKED AT BY A GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE.

TO A QUESTION ABOUT THE AGENDA OF THIS (SATURDAY) MORNING'S MEETING OF THE FIGHT CRIME COMMITTEE CHAIRED BY HIM, SIR DAVID SAID: *WE HAD QUITE A BUSY MORNING OF DISCUSSION,

HE ADDED THAT THE TOPICS INCLUDED THE ACTIVITIES OF THE WORK ING GROUP ON GANGS, THE LICENSING OF BILLIARD SALOONS, SHOP

AND THEFTS, THE USE AND MISUSE OF BURGLAR ALARMS IN BUILDINGS, NUISANCES CREATED BY +ONE-GIRL BROTHELS+ IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS.

ON THE SUBJECT OF RETIREMENT, SIR DAVID SAID HE HAD BEEN IN HONG KONG FOR 30 YEARS.

+OUR FAMILY HAVE MADE OUR HOME HERE FOR 30 YEARS AND WE WILL GO ON LIVING IN HONG KONG. AND I HOPE, IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER, I WILL FIND WORK SOMEWHERE AND GO ON SERVING THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG, BUT I DON'T KNOW YET.+

PRICE, VOLUME CHANGES IN JULY EXTERNAL TRADE

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THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS GREW BY 10 PER CENT IN THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 1986 AS COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

HENCE, THERE THE VOLUME OF RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 2 PER CENT. WAS AN OVERALL INCREASE OF 6 PER CENT IN THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS.

IMPORTS INCREASED BY 8 PER CENT IN VOLUME. ON THE SAME BASIS OF COMPARISON, THE PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS BOTH ROSE BY 1 PER CENT, SO THAT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS PRICES ALSO INCREASED BY 1 PER CENT.

AS A RESULT, THE TERMS PRICES OF IMPORTS ROSE BY 4 PER CENT. OF TRADE INDEX (EXPRESSED AS A RATIO OF THE TOTAL EXPORT PRICE INDEX TO THE IMPORT PRICE INDEX) DROPPED BY 3 PER CENT.

COMPARING JULY 1986 WITH JULY 1985, THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 23 PER CENT AND 15 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. HENCE, TOTAL EXPORTS GREW BY 19 PER CENT IN VOLUME. IMPORT VOLUME INCREASED BY 20 PER CENT. OVER THE SAME PERIOD, THE PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS REMAINED UNCHANGED WHILE THOSE OF RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 3 PER CENT. IMPORT PRICES ROSE BY 7 PER CENT.

PRICES ARE BASED ON UNIT VALUES WHICH DO NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OR QUALITY OF GOODS TRADED; EXCEPT FOR SOME SELECTED COMMODITIES FOR WHICH SPECIFICATION PRICE INDEXES ARE COMPILED. THE VOLUME OF TRADE IS DERIVED FROM TRADE VALUES BY DISCOUNTING THE EFFECT OF PRICE CHANGES.

/EXTENDING THE