XN000022-1990-10-22 — Page 3

MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1990

"BUT SO

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WE TAKE THE LONG VIEW: THAT SURPLUSES SHOULD BE PLOUGHED THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS CAN REAP THE BENEFIT OF EXPANDED ECONOMIC POTENTIAL.

BACK

"CONTINUED ECONOMIC GROWTH, COUPLED WITH IMPROVED URBAN DESIGN,

HE SAID. ARE ESSENTIAL FOR CREATING A BETTER CITY IN WHICH TO LIVE,

ON THE GROWTH OF HONG KONG INTO A STRONG INDUSTRIAL BASE, SIR NOR DAVID SAID: "BECAUSE WE, AS A GOVERNMENT, OFFER NEITHER SUBSIDIES PROTECTION TO OUR ENTREPRENEURS, OUR ECONOMY IS FREE CONSTANTLY ADAPT TO THE CHANGING INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT.

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"MANUFACTURING HAS BECOME MORE SOPHISTICATED THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY. PRODUCTIVITY HAS IMPROVED AND THE INDUSTRIAL WORK FORCE HAS DECLINED.

"A KEY CONTRIBUTORY FACTOR IN THIS LATTER TREND HAS BREN CHINA'S 'OPEN DOOR POLICY' SIR DAVID SAID.

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HE POINTED OUT THAT HONG KONG'S ENTREPRENEURS WERE QUICK TO GO: THROUGH CHINA'S DOOR WHEN IT OPENED IN THE LATE SEVENTIES; QUICK TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PLENTIFUL LAND AND LABOUR IN THE PEARL RIVER DELTA.

"MANY THOUSANDS OF HONG KONG ENTREPRENEURS HAVE SET UP JOINT VENTURES OVER THE BORDER, WHILST RETAINING IN HONG KONG KEY FUNCTIONS SUCH AS PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT,

PROCUREMENT, RESOURCE PACKAGING, INFORMATION PROCESSING AND MARKETING.

"MUCH OF THE DELTA HAS THUS BECOME HONG KONG'S INDUSTRIAL HINTER-LAND', AND HONG KONG HAS BEGUN TO DEVELOP AS THE SERVICE CENTRE FOR MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS THROUGHOUT THE REGION.

"CHINA'S RE-OPENED DOOR HAS ALSO RESULTED IN A TREMENDOUS SURGE IN THE RE-EXPORT TRADE WHICH, OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS HAS GROWN AT AN ANNUAL AVERAGE OF ABOUT 45 PER CENT, HE SAID.

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TURNING TO HONG KONG'S ROLE AS AN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ON FINANCIAL CENTRE, SIR DAVID SAID HONG KONG WOULD CONTINUE TO RELY EXCELLENT TELECOMMUNICATIONS, SOPHISTICATED COMPUTERISED INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND CONVENIENT INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL TRANSPORTATION.

"MORE IMPORTANT IT WILL CONTINUE TO RENEW THESE VITAL

COMPONENTS TO INFRASTRUCTURAL

ENSURE THAT IT STAYS AHEAD AS THE COMMUNICATIONS HUB OF THE REGION," HE SAID.

BILLIONS

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TOURIST INDUSTRY WHICH PUMPED MANY OF DOLLARS INTO HONG KONG'S ECONOMY EACH YEAR, SIR DAVID REITERATED THAT IF WE WERE TO CONTINUE TO ENJOY THE FRUITS OF TOURISM OUR AND SEE ITS ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION GROW, WE WOULD NEED TO BUILD AIRPORT QUICKLY AND TO THE HIGHEST STANDARDS.

"NOTHING DETERS THE TRAVELLER MORE THAN CONGESTION AND DELAYS AT AN AIRPORT, HE SAID.

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/THE CHIEF