XN000022-1987-01-12 — Page 2

MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1987

HIGHER EDUCATION GROWTH SHOWN BY FOURTH COLLEGE

**

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SHAW COLLEGE WAS NOT ONLY SYMBOLIC OF THE EXPANSION AND GROWTH OF THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY, IT WAS ALSO A TANGIBLE DEMONSTRATION OF THE RAPID PACE OF DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MONG KONG, THE ACTING GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID AKERS-JONES, SAID TODAY (MONDAY).

SPEAKING AT THE FOUNDATION STONE LAYING CEREMONY OF THE COLLEGE, SIR DAVID SAID THAT TEN YEARS AGO, THERE WERE ONLY TWO TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS PROVIDING 2 100 FIRST YEAR DEGREE PLACES.

TODAY, THERE WERE FIVE INSTITUTIONS PROVIDING 4 200 PLACES. IT WAS EXPECTED THAT THE FIGURE WOULD BE DOUBLED TO 8 300 AND PERHAPS MORE IN 10 YEARS' TIME.

+IN HONG KONG, PEOPLE ARE VALUABLE ASSETS, SIR DAVID SAID. +FOR THIS REASON, THE GOVERNMENT HAS ALWAYS GIVEN PRIORITY TO EDUCATION WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR THE LARGEST SINGLE SHARE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S BUDGET.✦

HE SAID THAT IT WAS DIFFICULT TO INCREASE THE SLICE OF THE CAKE WITHOUT ADVERSELY AFFECTING OTHER IMPORTANT AREAS OF EXPENDITURE,

HE SAID THAT DONATIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TO IMPROVE HONG KONG'S EDUCATION SERVICES WERE THERFORE WELCOME.

SIR DAVID COMMENDED SIR RUN RUN'S GENEROUS DONATIONS FOR THE

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SHAW COLLEGE.

HE SAID THAT IN THE PAST 24 YEARS, THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY HAD BUILT UP AN INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION AND BELIEVED THAT ITS REPUTATION WOULD BE ENHANCED BY THE ADDITION OF THE FOURTH COLLEGE.

EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS FOR NOVEMBER RELEASED

*****

THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY RELEASED TRADE VALUE STATISTICS FOR NOVEMBER 1986. COMPARED WITH NOVEMBER 1985. TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE IN NOVEMBER 1986, VALUED AT $53 191 MILLION, GREW BY 31 PER CENT. DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY 30 PER CENT TO $14 870 MILLION WHILE RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 41 PER CENT TO $12 275 MILLION, THUS BRINGING TOTAL EXPORTS TO $27 145 MILLION, 35 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN NOVEMBER 1985. IMPORTS INCREASED BY 28 PER CENT TO $26 046 MILLION.

DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO MOST MAJOR MARKETS INCREASED IN VALUE TERMS BETWEEN NOVEMBER 1985 AND NOVEMBER 1986. THE GROWTH IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO JAPAN (83 PER CENT), THE NETHERLANDS (68 PER CENT), CHINA (37 PER CENT), SINGAPORE (43 PER CENT) AND FRANCE (39 PER CENT) WAS PARTICULARLY STRONG. ON THE OTHER HAND, DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO CANADA RECORDED A DECLINE (-3 PER CENT).

/ON THE