XN000022-1992-11-26 — Page 6

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1992

THE LI CHIT STREET REDEVELOPMENT

PROJECT, WHEN

COMPLETED, WOULD BRING ABOUT A FACE-LIFT TO THE CROWDED URBAN ENVIRONMENT IN WAN CHAI BY PROVIDING THE MUCH-NEEDED OPEN SPACE AND COMMUNITY FACILITIES, INCLUDING A HOME FOR THE ELDERLY, A SOCIAL THERAPY CENTRE AND AN URBAN HOSTEL, MR MACLEOD SAID.

IN ADDITION, IT WILL PROVIDE 30 FLOORS OF NEW RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY COMPRISING 180 FLATS.

A UNIQUE FEATURE OF THIS REDEVELOPMENT WOULD BE THE PRESERVATION OF THE UNIQUE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN OF THE FACADES OF THE OLD BUILDINGS THROUGH LANDSCAPING,

MR MACLEOD WISHED THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND THE NEW WORLD DEVELOPMENT LTD, THE JOINT VENTURE PARTNER, EVERY SUCCESS IN THE DEVELOPMENT PORJECT.

CONSUMER PRICE INDICES FOR OCTOBER

IN

CONSUMER PRICE INFLATION MODERATED IN OCTOBER AFTER A RELAPSE SEPTEMBER, ACCORDING TO THE FIGURES RELEASED TODAY (THURSDAY) BY THE CENSUS & STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) IN OCTOBER 1992 WAS 9.5% HIGHER THAN IN OCTOBER 1991. THIS WAS LOWER THAN THE FIGURE OF 9.9% IN THE PRECEDING MONTH.

THE CPI (B) AND THE HANG SENG CPI WERE HIGHER BY 10% AND 9.5% RESPECTIVELY IN OCTOBER 1992 THAN IN OCTOBER LAST YEAR. THE CORRESPONDING INCREASES IN SEPTEMBER 1992 WERE BOTH 10.2%.

THE COMPOSITE CPI, WHICH WAS COMPILED BASED ON THE COMBINED EXPENDITURE PATTERN OF HOUSEHOLDS COVERED BY THE THREE CPI'S, SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 9.7% IN OCTOBER 1992 OVER THE SAME MONTH IN 1991. THE CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN SEPTEMBER 1992 WAS 10.1%.

COMMENTING ON THE FIGURES, THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY, MR HAMISH MACLEOD, SAID: "ALTHOUGH THE OCTOBER CPI INFLATION FIGURE IS STILL RELATIVELY HIGH, THE LATEST MODERATION SHOWS THAT THE SHARP REBOUND IN SEPTEMBER WAS ONLY TEMPORARY.'

"TAKEN TOGETHER, INFLATION FOR THE FIRST 10 MONTHS OF THIS YEAR HAS REMAINED AT A SINGLE-DIGIT LEVEL. OUR FORECAST OF A 9.5% INCREASE IN THE CPI(A) FOR 1992 AS A WHOLE SHOULD BE ACHIEVABLE.'

"

THE SLOWER YEAR-ON-YEAR RATES OF INCREASE IN THE CPI'S IN OCTOBER THAN IN SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR WERE MAINLY DUE TO THE PRICES FRESH VEGETABLES RETURNING TO A LOWER LEVEL AFTER THE UPSURGE SEPTEMBER.

OF

IN

/COMPARING OCTOBER