XN000022-1987-10-22 — Page 2

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1987

1

BUOYANT ECONOMY IS PROOF FREE TRADE WORKS SIR DAVID

HONG KONG TODAY EXUDES AN ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE THAT IS ALMOST TANGIBLE, AND THE BUOYANT ECONOMY ITSELF IS PROOF THAT A FREE TRADE POLICY WORKS, THE GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID WILSON, SAID IN WASHINGTON ON WEDNESDAY (U.S. TIME).

"WE SHARE COMMON CAUSE WITH THE UNITED STATES IN TRYING то GET THE FREK TRADE MESSAGE ACROSS TO OTHERS," HE SAID IN AN ADDRESS TO THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB IN THE U.S. CAPITAL.

THE GOVERNOR EMPHASISED THE STRENGTH OF TIES BETWEEN HONG KONG AND THE U.S.

HE SAID: "THIS COUNTRY IS OF IMMENSE IMPORTANCE TO US, THE UNITED STATES ALSO HAS SUBSTANTIAL INTERESTS IN HONG KONG. AND HONG KONG IS, I BELIEVE, IMPORTANT TO THE UNITED STATES BOTH IN ITSELF AND FOR THE ROLE IT PLAYS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAST-GROWING ASIA-PACIFIC REGION."

IN HIS WIDE-RANGING ADDRESS, ENTITLED "HONG KONG'S FUTURE AS ASIA'S INTERNATIONAL CITY", SIR DAVID SPOKE ABOUT U.9. INVESTMENT IN THE TERRITORY, THE SOLID PROGRESS MADE SINCE THE SIGNING OF THE SINO-BRITISH JOINT DECLARATION, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF HONG KONG TO CHINA'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

ON TRADE, HE REITERATED HONG KONG'S STRONG COMMITMENT TO FREE TRADE, AND STRESSED THAT THERE WERE NO RESTRICTIONS OR OBSTACLES TO PREVENT AMERICANS OR ANY OTHERS SELLING THEIR PRODUCTS IN THE TERRITORY.

HE POINTED TO THE STRONG SURGE OF INTEREST THAT AMERICAN BUSINESSMEN HAD SHOWN IN RECENT YEARS AND BXPLAINED: "AS WELL AS BEING A GOOD MARKET IN ITS OWN RIGHT, HONG KONG IS IDEALLY PLACED FOR DOING BUSINESS WITH THE REST OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION, AND 19 BY FAR THE BEST GATEWAY FOR PENETRATING THE CHINA MARKET. MANY U.S. FIRMS HAVE LOCATED THEIR REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS IN HONG KONG.

H

THE UNITED STATES, HE SAID, WAS HONG KONG'S LARGEST MARKET, TAKING ABOUT 40 PER CENT OF ITS DOMESTIC EXPORTS, AND THE SECOND LARGEST TRADING PARTNER AFTER CHINA.

"YOU ARE OUR FOURTH LARGEST SUPPLIER, WE, DESPITE A POPULATION OF ONLY FIVE-AND-HALF-MILLION, ARE YOUR SEVENTEENTH LARGEST MARKET AHEAD OF MANY COUNTRIES WITH MUCH LARGER POPULATIONS, HE SAID.

+

IN 1986 EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN HONG KONG BOUGHT THE EQUIVALENT OF US$521 IN AMERICAN GOODS. WHAT WAS MORE, EXPORTS то HONG KONG IN THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF THIS YEAR WERE UP BY AN IMPRESSIVE AMOUNT.

/SIR DAVID