XN000022-1987-10-24 — Page 23

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1987

QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION

THE GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID WILSON, ANSWERED A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS FOLLOWING HIS ADDRESS TO THE JOINT MEETING OF THE ASIA SOCIETY, AND THE HONG KONG ASSOCIATION ог NEW YORK IN NEW YORK ON FRIDAY (U.S. TIME).

THE QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION WAS CHAIRED BY THE SENIOR DIRECTOR OF HONG KONG ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, NEW YORK, MR WILLIAM DORWARD.

A TRANSCRIPT OF THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOLLOWS:

MR DORWARD: THE QUESTIONER НАЯ ASKED ELABORATE ON THE MATTER OF INVESTMENT IN HONG CHINESE AND AMERICAN INVESTMENT, WOULD HE INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG?

IF THE GOVERNOR CAN KONG.

HE'S MENTIONED SPEAK ABOUT BRITISH

OF ALL,

SIR DAVID: THE LARGE INVESTORS IN HONG KONG ARE FIRST THE UNITED STATES, THEN JAPAN, THIRD CHINA ITSELF. AND THEN AFTER THAT COME SOME OF THE WEST EUROPEANS, WEST GERMANY IN PARTICULAR. BRITAIN HAS SUBSTANTIAL OLD INVESTMENT IN HONO KONG, THERE IS NEW RITISH INVESTMENT GOING IN. I WISH, QUITE FRANKLY, THAT THERE WAS MORE BRITISH INVESTMENT GOING IN. I TELL BRITISH INVESTORS, NOT ONLY WOULD THAT BE NICE FOR HONG KONG, BUT IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY GOOD FOR THEIR BANK BALANCES.

MR DORWARD: MR ROSEN, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WHO COULDN'T HEAR IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM, BRINGS BLUSHES TO OUR CHRBKS BY HIS PRAISE FOR THE QUALITY OF THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVANTS WHO HAVE SERVED HONG KONG OVER THE YEARS. AND AS FOR THEIR BUCCESSORS WILL THEY BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE STANDARD OF TRADITIONS.

GOOD THIS

BIR DAVID: THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE CERTIFICATE OF GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, COULD WE HAVE IT IN WRITING. WE HAVE SOMB VERY LOCAL OFFICIALS INDEED; SOME OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY SITTING IN ROOM. THERE ARE TWO POINTS THAT NEED TO BE EMPHASISED, ONB IS THAT THE ARRANGEMENT FOR THE FUTURE IS HONG KONG PEOPLE THEMSELVES INVOLVED IN THE GOVERNMENT OF HONG KONG, SO THE PROPLE THAT YOU ARB TALKING ABOUT ARE HONG KONG PEOPLE. WE HAVE LONG HAD IN OUR CIVIL SERVICE A VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO ARE LOCAL PEOPLE FROM HONG KONG. THEY ARE OF VERY HIGH QUALITY. IF ANYBODY IN THIS ROOM HAS BEEN DOING BUSINESS WITH HONG KONG, THEY WILL COME ACROSS THOSE PEOPLE AND WILL KNOW THAT QUALITY IS THERE. COMING UP IN THE 40'S AGE GROUP ARK SOME EXCELLENT PROPLE IN WHOM I WOULD HAVE GREAT CONFIDENCE IF I WAS A BUSINESSMAN THINKING OF DOING BUSINESS WITH THEM IN THE FUTURE. ONE OTHER INTERESTING POINT, JUST TO MENTION, ON THE CIVIL SERVICE, WE RECRUIT ANNUALLY FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE WHICH IS THE SENIOR RANKS OF THE CIVIL SERVICE. THIS YEAR WE WERE LOOKING FOR JUST OVER 30 PLACES, AND WE HAD OVER 3,000 APPLICATIONS. WE HAD A HUGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE OF VERY HIGH QUALITY APPLYING FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE OF THE CIVIL SERVICE. ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE KNOWING THAT THEIR OF SERVICE WAS GOING TO BE MORE AFTER 1997 THAN BEFORE 1997. THAT VERY ENCOURAGING.

BRANCH PERIOD I FIND

/(QUESTION

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