XN000022-1987-10-24 — Page 6

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1987

SIR DAVID POINTED OUT THAT HONG KONG'S IMPORTS FROM THE U.S. IN 1986 WERE WORTH U.S.$3 BILLION, AND THIS YEAR THEY HAD SUBSTANTIALLY ON LAST YEAR.

INCREASED

EXCELLENT

AS A PLACE TO MANUFACTURE, HONG KONG COULD OFFER INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICE FACILITIES, НЕ WENT ON, AND OVERSEAS INVESTMENT WAS INCREASING RAPIDLY.

"WE MUST BE ONE OF THE BASIEST PLACES IN THE WORLD IN WHICH TO SET UP SHOP," HE SAID. "WE HAVE A SKILLED AND DILIGENT WORKFORCE, A GOVERNMENT THAT BELIEVES THAT BUSINES8 KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR BUSINESS, AND LO TAX RATES."

SIR DAVID NOTED THAT AMERICAN COMPANIES HAD LONG RECOGNISED THE TERRITORY'S ADVANTAGES, AND THE U.S. HAD MORE INVESTMENT IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, ACCOUNTING FOR OVER ONE-THIRD OF ALL OVERSEAS INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT.

"THE U.S. STAKE IN OUR INDUSTRY 13 GROWING FAST, WITH MORE THAN TWICE AS MUCH COMMITTED IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1987 AS IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1986," HE SAID.

RONG

THE

RECENT

FOR THE BUSINESSMAN LOOKING TO CHINA, SIR DAVID DESCRIBED KONG AS A GATEWAY THAT WAS SECOND TO NONE, AND POINTED TO PHENOMENAL GROWTH OF HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORT TRADE WITH CHINA IN YEARS.

SOME

"NEARLY 80 PER CENT OF OUR TOTAL RE-EXPORT BUSINESS, U.S.$15 BILLION WORTH OF GOODS IN THE 12 MONTHS TO THE END OF JUNE, IS NOW ACCOUNTED FOR BY TRADE COMING OR GOING TO CHINA," HE SAID. "THIS DOES NOT, OF COURSE, INCLUDE THE GOODS THAT ARE TRANSHIPPED THROUGH HONG KONG, OR OTHER OFFSHORE TRADE FLOWS.'

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AS WELL AS THE IMPORTANT PHYSICAL COMMUNICATIONS LINKS BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA, SIR DAVID POINTED TO THE PERSONAL CONNECTIONS THAT WERE ALSO 80 IMPORTANT. "HONG KONG BUSINESSMEN HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE, EXPERTISE AND LANGUAGE SKILLS THAT CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE TO WESTERN BUSINESSMEN GRAPPLING WITH THE PROBLEMS OF PENETRATING THE DISTANT AND UNFAMILIAR CHINA MARKET, HE EXPLAINED.

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AS FOR DOING BUSINESS WITH THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION, SIR DAVID SAID HONG KONG WAS ADMIRABLY SUITED AS A LOCATION FOR THE REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS OF MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS, AND, IN THIS CONNECTION, HE NOTED THAT MANY U.S. COMPANIES HAD HAD A BASE IN THE TERRITORY FOR YEARS.

HONG KONG'S ECONOMY HAD STAGED A TURNAROUND SINCE THE SIGNING OF THE JOINT DECLARATION IN 1984, SIR DAVID SAID, AND HE EXPLAINED HOW VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF THE DOCUMENT WERE REASSURING FOR BUSINESSMEN, SAYING THAT AFTER 1997, AS A SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION OF CHINA, "HONG KONG WILL CONTINUE TO DO BUSINESS JUST AS IT DOES TODAY."

/HE REFERRED