XN000022-1990-03-12 — Page 3

MONDAY, MARCH 12, 1990

7

HE SAID TOTAL TRADE BETWEEN HONG

KONG AND COUNTRIES

RATE IMPRESSIVE

DURING

REGION HAD BEEN GROWING AT A VERY FIVE YEARS, PARTICULARLY IN 1987 AND 1988 WHEN A GROWTH CENT AND 37.6 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY WAS REGISTERED.

IN

THE

THE LAST OF 40.9 PER

THE COUNTRIES

AN REPRESENTING

INCREASE

"IN 1989, TOTAL TRADE BETWEEN HONG KONG AND THE REGION WAS VALUED AT $682 BILLION, 14.7 PER CENT OVER 1988," HE SAID,

DOMESTIC

ΤΟ EXPORTS

THE

REGION,

IN

OF

MR

AS REGARDS HONG KONG'S CHEUNG SAID THESE TOOK UP 35.5 PER CENT OF OUR GLOBAL EXPORTS IN 1989, COMPARED WITH ONLY ONE-FOURTH IN 1985.

THE RISE 1985-1989. IN

HE SAID HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS TO THE REGION WERE ON WITH AN AVERAGE ANNUAL GROWTH RATE OF 27.3 PER CENT IN 1989, HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS TO THE ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES FOR 54 PER CENT OF HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS TO THE WORLD, TO $187 BILLION.

ACCOUNTED

AND AMOUNTED

THIS

INTRA-REGIONAL TRADE MR CHEUNG SAID THERE WAS EVERY SIGN THAT WOULD GROW FURTHER IN THE YEARS TO COME AND HONG KONG MUST GRASP OPPORTUNITY AND SECURE ITS MARKET SHARE.

HE SAID THAT AMONG THESE MARKETS, JAPAN WAS ONE IN KONG WAS TRYING HARD TO STRENGTHEN ITS PRESENCE.

WHICH HONG

KONG AND JAPAN EXPANSION

HE SAID THE COMMERCIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN HONG IN RECENT YEARS HAD BEEN CHARACTERISED BY HOPEFUL TRENDS OF

EXPORT OUR FIFTH LARGEST AND PROGRESS. "JAPAN WAS LARGEST SUPPLIER AND THIRD LARGEST RE-EXPORT MARKET IN 1989,

MARKET,

++

SECOND

HE SAID.

RECENT WHICH

MR CHEUNG NOTED THAT ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT IN YEARS WAS THE INCREASE OF JAPAN-CHINA TRADE THROUGH HONG KONG, ROSE SUBSTANTIALLY FROM $4.5 BILLION IN 1985 TO $38.5 BILLION IN 1989.

ነ

BE LOOKING AHEAD INTO THE 90'S, MR CHEUNG SAID HONG KONG WOULD

OF THE U.S. FACING MORE CHALLENGES IN VIEW OF THE POSSIBLE SLOWDOWN

MARKET IN ECONOMY AND THE IMPENDING FORMATION OF THE SINGLE EUROPEAN 1992.

IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION

HOWEVER, HE ADDED, THE ECONOMIES WERE EXPECTED TO BECOME MORE OUTWARD LOOKING.

"AS TRADE AND INVESTMENT

LINKS

GROW,

A

HIGH DEGREE

OF DEVELOPING. THIS

INTEGRATION AMONG THE ASIA-PACIFIC RIM ECONOMIES IS REGION IS LIKELY TO REMAIN A HIGH GROWTH AREA IN THE COMING DECADE.

"AS OUTWARD-LOOKING ECONOMIES IN THE HONG KONG SHOULD CONTINUE TO CONTRIBUTE TO, ECONOMIC INTEGRATION PROCESS," HE SAID.

AND

REGION, BOTH

BENEFIT

JAPAN AND FROM, THIS

0

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