XN000022-1989-10-26 — Page 4

C

THURSDAY. OCTOBER 26, 1989

3

IIK HAS STRONG FOUNDATION TO BUILD ON: STI

KONG

CAN BUILD.

THERE IS A STRONG FOUNDATION UPON WHICH HONG AND THEREBY CONTINUE TO GROW, THE SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, MR JOIN CHAN. SAID TODAY (THURSDAY).

SPEAKING TO THE KIEL

INSTITUTE OF

GERMANY DURING HIS DUTY VISIT TO EUROPE. MR KONG WOULD NOT GO DOWN THE DRAIN.

"THE GOVERNMENT WON'T LET IT HAPPEN. WON'T LET IT HAPPEN. AND CHINA. IN HER OWN HAPPEN EITHER, HE SAID.

++

WORLD ECONOMICS IN WEST CHAN ASSURED THAT HONG

THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG INTERESTS. WON'T LET IT

GIVING SOME FACTS AND FIGURES TO THE AUDIENCE, MR CHAN SAID WHICH WAS TRULY ALL THESE GAVE THE PICTURE OF A BUSINESS METROPOLIS COSMOPOLITAN IN OUTLOOK, WITH A FAST-GROWING ECONOMY AND A HIGH OF AFFLUENCE.

LEVEL

ALL, "ABOVE ATTI ATTRACTIVE BUSINESS WORLD, HE SAID.

AND

INVESTMENT

IT IS THE PICTURE OF A CITY

OPPORTUNITIES TO

WHICH THE

OFFERS OUTSIDE

WAS ESTIMATED AND HIGHER THAN

MR CHAN SAID HONG KONG'S PER CAPITA GDP IN 1988 AT US$9,600, WHICH WAS SECOND ONLY TO JAPAN IN ASIA SOME MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY.

THE

"ACCORDING ΤΟ STATISTICS PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, HONG KONG IS THE 10TH LARGEST TRADING COMMUNITY IN WORLD. IN 1989. OUR TOTAL EXTERNAL TRADE

WORTH US$127 BILLION. 31 PER CENT HIGHER THAN THAT OF 1987.

WAS

"OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS, HONG KONG'S DOMESTIC EXPORTS RAPIDLY AT AN AVERAGE ANNUAL RATE OF 11 PER CENT IN IMPORTS GREW EVEN FASTER BY 14 PER CENT A STILL FASTER AT 26 PER CENT A YEAR, AGAIN IN REAL TERMS, HE SAID.

EXPANDED REAL TERMS. OUR

OUR

AND YEAR,

RE-EXPORTS

T

CONTAINER

MR CHAN ADDED THAT HONG KONG HAD THE WORLD'S BUSIEST

AIRPORT ALSO HANDLES MORE CARGO PORT IN TERMS OF THROUGHPUT. "OUR THAN ANY OTHER SINGLE TERMINAL IN THE WORLD.

++

BANKS FROM

HE SAID WELL OVER 400 FOREIGN WERE REPRESENTED IN HONG KONG AND 136 OF THEM

IN THIRD THE TERRITORY. HONG OVERSEAS BANK REPRESENTATION.

KONG RANKS

COUNTRIES

50 SOME HAD FULL BRANCHES IN THE WORLD IN TERMS OF

ASTA, AS AFTER LONDON

"AND HONG KONG IS THE FOURTH LARGEST STOCK MARKET IN WELL AS THE THIRD LARGEST GOLD MARKET IN THE WORLD ZURICH IN TERMS OF TRADING VOLUME, HE SAID.

..

AND

TURNING TO