XN000022-1988-12-21 — Page 3

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1988

"OUR EXPORTS OF THESE ITEMS INCREASED BY BETWEEN

28 PER CENT TOTAL

AND 129 PER CENT BETWEEN JANUARY AND SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR. THEIR SHARE OF OUR DOMESTIC EXPORTS HAS NOW REACHED 14 PER CENT," HE SAID.

"AND OTHER PRODUCTS SUCH AS JEWELLERY, WATCHES AND CLOCKS ALSO SUSTAINED A RAPID GROWTH RATE."

HAVE

HONG KONG BASED

COMPETITIVE, STAY

TECHNOLOGY VALUE-ADDED,

SIR DAVID SAID THAT IN ORDER TO

MOVE TOWARDS HIGH MUST CONTINUE TO PRODUCTION AND REDUCE ITS DEPENDENCE ON THE LABOUR-INTENSIVE SECTOR.

IMPORTATION

BE

SIR DAVID OF FOREIGN WORKERS, ON THE ISSUE OF STRESSED THAT THE EXISTING POLICY DID ALLOW FOR SKILLED WORKERS TO IMPORTED IF THEIR SKILLS WERE NOT AVAILABLE LOCALLY.

"I HOPE YOU WILL TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THAT,

ו

HE SAID.

SIR DAVID SAID HE RECOGNISED THAT LABOUR SHORTAGE то WAS PROBLEMS; HOWEVER IT DID HAVE THE EFFECT OF FORCING THE MOVE IN THE DIRECTION IT HAD TO GO IF HONG KONG PROSPER THE DIRECTION OF AUTOMATION AND HIGH TECHNOLOGY.

77

HAD CREATED

ECONOMY SURVIVE

ΤΟ AND

SAID IT DAVID SIR OF MARKETS, ON DIVERSIFICATION ENCOURAGING TREND THAT THE PROPORTION OF HONG KONG'S DOMESTIC

DROPPED, TO THE UNITED STATES, ITS LARGEST MARKET, HAD

AND ΤΟ 33 PER CENT IN 1985 TO 37 PER CENT LAST YEAR. FIRST NINE MONTHS OF THIS YEAR.

WAS AN EXPORTS

44 FROM

PER CENT IN THE

HIS

RECENT

IN THE VISIT

EUROPEAN TO FOUR WAS NO

REFERRING TO THE CREATION OF A SINGLE MARKET COMMUNITY BY 1992, SIR DAVID SAID DURING COMMUNITY COUNTRIES HE HAD BEEN REPEATEDLY ASSURED THAT THERE DANGER OF EXTERNAL TRADE BARRIERS BEING CREATED IN THE PROCESS.

"EVEN IF THE REALITY TURNS OUT TO BE NOT QUITE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES STRAIGHT FORWARD AS THIS, I SEE HONG KONG EXPORTERS," HE SAID.

AS

SIMPLE

AND

IN

EUROPE

FOR

AND

IN

OUTLINING THE REMARKABLE GROWTH IN TRADE BETWEEN HONG KONG

TIMING OF CHINA, SIR DAVID SAID THERE WAS STILL GREAT POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH

THE GROWTH ITS TACKLED

PRESENT THE CHINESE MARKET, EVEN THOUGH THE SPEED AND WAS GOING TO DEPEND ON HOW SUCCESSFULLY PROBLEMS OF THE ECONOMY AND OF INFLATION.

CHINA

AS WELL AS OTHER ALL THAILAND AND

TAIWAN, JAPAN, SIR DAVID ALSO NOTED THAT

AS SINGAPORE, SOUTH KOREA ASIAN COUNTRIES SUCH PROVIDED EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR HONG KONG EXPORTERS.

"AND AFTER SOME DIFFICULTIES WE ARE BEGINNING TO MAKE

HE SAID. INTO THESE MARKETS,

#1

IN-ROADS

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