XN000022-1990-11-23 — Page 3

THE

BE LARGEST AND 58 FIRST

THE PERFORMANCE OF RE-EXPORTS OF CHINA ORIGIN CONTINUED TO ROBUST. CHINA REMAINED THE LARGEST MARKET FOR AS WELL AS THE SOURCE OF HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS, ACCOUNTING FOR 27 PER CENT PER CENT RESPECTIVELY OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS IN NINE MONTHS OF 1990.

IMPORTS ROSE BY ABOUT 12 PER CENT IN REAL TERMS IN

OF

RETAINED 1990 OVER A YEAR EARLIER,

IMPORTS QUARTER SIGNIFICANTLY, BY ABOUT 10 PER CENT OVER THE SAME PERIOD.

THE

THIRD

ALSO

ROSE

AMONG THE VARIOUS END-USE CATEGORIES, RETAINED IMPORTS OF MATERIALS AND SEMI-MANUFACTURES PICKED UP SUBSTANTIALLY, RETAINED IMPORTS OF FOODSTUFFS AND CAPITAL GOODS ALSO SHOWED INCREASES. RETAINED IMPORTS OF CONSUMER GOODS AND FUELS, RECORDED DECLINES.

RAW

WHILE MODERATE HOWEVER,

A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT OF $1,576 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 0.3

FIRST PER CENT

THE

NINE THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED IN OF MONTHS OF THIS YEAR.

"THIS IS COMPARABLE ΤΟ THE DEFICIT OF $1,515 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 0.4 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, MR TANG SAID.

||

IN THE

DOMESTIC DEMAND IMPROVED IN. THE THIRD QUARTER FROM THE PREVIOUS GOODS HAD QUARTERS. THE DECLINE IN RETAINED IMPORTS OF CONSUMBR MODERATED SIGNIFICANTLY.

FEW

MEANWHILE, THE VOLUME OF RETAIL SALES SHOWED A REBOUND IN JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST COMBINED.

ABOUT

ON INVESTMENT, RETAINED IMPORTS OF CAPITAL GOODS ROSE BY 4 PER CENT IN REAL TERMS IN THE THIRD QUARTER OVER A YEAR EARLIER.

MR TANG POINTED OUT THAT CONSUMER PRICE INFLATION REMAINED HIGH IN THE THIRD QUARTER.

THIRD THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) ROSE BY 9.5 PER CENT IN THE

THE CORRESPONDING INCREASES WERE 9.4 PER QUARTER OVER A YEAR EARLIER. CENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER AND 9.3 PER CENT IN THE SECOND QUARTER.

COMPARED WITH A YEAR EARLIER, THE CPI(A) WAS HIGHER BY 9.4

IN SEPTEMBER CENT IN JULY, 9.4 PER CENT IN AUGUST AND 9.7 PER CENT 1990.

PER

THE

ADDITIONAL

THE

OIL

INFLATIONARY PRESSURES ARISING FROM PRICE HIKE SINCE AUGUST WERE BECOMING MORE APPARENT TOWARDS THE END OF THE QUARTER, MR TANG SAID.

MARKET "THE LABOUR

WAS STILL TIGHT IN GENERAL TBRMS. THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE, AT 1.7 PER CENT AND 1.0 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY IN THE THIRD QUARTER, STILL RELATIVELY LOW," MR TANG NOTED.

WERE

"BUT THEY WERE HIGHER THAN THE CORRESPONDING RATES OF 1.4 CENT AND 0.6 PER CENT A YEAR EARLIER.

PER

/"DURING THE