XN000022-1992-12-11 — Page 6

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1992

YEAR,

"OUR PER CAPITA CDP IS EXPECTED TO EXCEED US$10,000 THIS LOWER ONLY THAN JAPAN IN THIS REGION BUT ABOUT THE SAME LEVEL AS SINGAPORE.

"WE ARE THE WORLD'S 10TH LARGEST TRADING ENTITY ALTHOUGH WE ONLY RANK 89TH IN POPULATION SIZE, SHE SAID.

"OUR PORT 18

THE BUSIEST IN THE WORLD AND OUR AIRPORT THE FOURTH BUSIEST. WE ARE ALSO A MAJOR REGIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE, SHE ADDED.

SHE POINTED OUT THAT HONG KONG WAS FORTUNATE IN FINDING ITSELF POSITIONED BOTH TO CONTRIBUTE TO AND BENEFIT FROM THE DYNAMIC ECONOMIC GROWTH IN SOUTHEAST ASIA.

›

IN ADDITION, SHE SAID "IUCH OF THE STIMULUS FOR HONG KONG'S GROWTH HAD COME FROM THE INCREASING CLOSE INTERACTION

ITS BETWEEN ECONOMY AND THAT OF THE PEARL RIVER DELTA IN SOUTHERN GUANGDONG.

ΤΟ ILLUSTRATE THE ECONOMIC INTERDEPENDENCE BETWEEN THE TWO AREAS, MRS CHAN SAID HONG KONG COMPANIES OWNED OR OPERATED 19,000 FACTORIES IN GUANGDONG PROVINCE TOGETHER WITH OTHER OVERSEAS INVESTORS, EMPLOYING SOME THREE MILLION MAINLAND WORKERS COMPARED WITH A TOPAL MANUFACTURING LABOUR FORCE OF ABOUT 70,000 IN HONG KONG.

RONG KONG ALSO CONTRIBUTED ABOUT 80 PPR (ENT OF THE TOTAL REALISED FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN GUANGDONG, SHE ADDED.

EFFECTIVELY

HONG KONG HAD BEEN ABLE TO EXPAND ITS PRODUCTIVE

CAPACITY FOURFOLD, SHE SAID.

ON THE TRADE FRONT, MRS CILAN POINTED OUT THAT ABOUT 33 PER CENT OF HONG KONG'S TOTAL TRADE WAS AT PRESENT CHINA-RELATED, COMPARED WITH ONLY NINE PER CENT IN 1978.

BONG ADDED.

"NEARLY HALF OF CHINA'S EXPORTS ARE CHANNELLED TO OR THROUGH KONG. WE ARE NOW EACH OTHER'S NUMBER ONE TRADING PARTNER, SHE

"

MEANWHILE, THE MAKE-UP OF HONG KONG'S EXTERNAL TRADE HAD CHANGED DRAMATICALLY AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE PROCESSING RELATIONSHIP WITH SOUTH CHINA, MRS CHAN SAID.

THIS VALLE OF HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS TO AND FROM CHINA HAD INCREASED ABOUT 22 TIMES WITHIN THE LAST 10 YEARS.

·

CHINA

"IN THE DECADE TO DO

WE ARE LIKELY TO SEF THE BORDER BETWEEN AND HONG KONG RECOMING EVER MORF

OUR AND

ECONOMIC INTERDEPENDENCE GAINING IN STRENGTH.

POROUS

"WF DEPEND ON BACH OTHER TO SUSTAIN GROWTH,

MRS CHAN SAID.

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