XN000022-1994-06-21 — Page 8

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TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 1994

MR MILLER SAID: "TRADE BETWEEN CANADA AND HONG KONG HAS RISEN A STAGGERING 14% SINCE 1990, WITH THE ANNUAL DOLLAR VALUE RISING FROM 2.7 TO 3.8 MILLION."

DEPICTING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN HONG KONG AS "BUSINESS FRIENDLY", HE STRESSED THE BENEFITS OF AN OPEN ECONOMY AND FREE TRADE PHILOSOPHY.

"IT IS AN ARTICLE OF ECONOMIC FAITH IN HONG KONG THAT, AS WELL AS KEEPING TAXES LOW, WE CHARGE NO TARIFFS ON IMPORTS OR EXPORTS. THERE IS NO SIMPLER OR MORE SUCCESSFUL WAY OF PROMOTING TRADE, HE SAID.

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MR MILLER NOTED THAT 40,000 CANADIAN RESIDENTS NOW FORMED ONE OF THE LARGEST FOREIGN COMMUNITIES IN HONG KONG.

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"OVER 150 CANADIAN COMPANIES HAVE BRANCHES OR SUBSIDIARIES HONG KONG, ANOTHER 450 ARE REPRESENTED BY DISTRIBUTORS, AGENTS JOINT VENTURE PARTNERS. THE LINE-UP INCLUDES SIX MAJOR BANKS, SEVERAL WELL-KNOWN SECURITIES AND COMMODITIES TRADERS, FIVE OF YOUR INSURANCE COMPANIES, AND, OF COURSE, AIR CANADA AND NORTHERN TELECOM, HE SAID.

"MOST ARE LOOKING AT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES NOT ONLY IN KONG, BUT ALSO NORTH OF THE BORDER AND IN THE WIDER REGION, WITH ARRIVING EVERY DAY," HE ADDED.

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MR MILLER WAS BULLISH ABOUT ECONOMIC AND TRADE PROSPECTS. SAID: "THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE ARE DOING VERY WELL

HOW ECONOMIES CAN BOAST 27 STRAIGHT YEARS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH? CAPITA GDP HAS TREBLED SINCE 1970 AND IS NOW ROUGHLY THE SAME AS OWN. FOR 1994, WE ARE LOOKING AT GDP GROWTH IN REAL TERMS OF 5.5% AGAIN, AND WE ARE LOOKING AT 17% GROWTH IN TOTAL TRADE."

HE SAID THERE WERE THREE COMPONENTS TO HONG KONG AND CANADA'S BILATERAL TRADE. "LAST YEAR HONG KONG IMPORTED C$820 MILLION WORTH OF GOODS FROM CANADA. IN RETURN, HONG KONG SOLD CANADA ABOUT C$800 MILLION WORTH. BOTH THESE FIGURES WERE DWARFED BY THE C$2.1 BILLION WORTH OF RE-EXPORTS OF CHINESE GOODS THROUGH HONG KONG TO CANADA AND CANADIAN EXPORTS THROUGH HONG KONG TO CHINA, HE SAID.

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"IT IS THIS RE-EXPORT TRADE, AND ALL THE SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH IT, WHICH HAVE BEEN DRIVING HONG KONG'S ECONOMIC GROWTH OVER LAST DECADE."

MR

MILLER DESCRIBED THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT AS UNOBTRUSIVE, SAYING THAT "HONG KONG BUREAUCRATS, LIKE MYSELF, HAVE A TRADITION OF LEAVING BUSINESS DECISIONS TO BUSINESSMEN AND BUSINESSWOMEN, YOU HEAR A LOT ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT (IN THE MEDIA), BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, GOVERNMENT KEEPS OUT OF YOUR WAY. OUR POLICY IS ONE OF MINIMUM INTERFERENCE AND MAXIMUM SUPPORT."

HE NOTED THAT EVEN BEFORE THE ONE PER CENT REDUCTION IN PROFITS TAX IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, A WORLD COMPETITIVENESS REPORT HAD CALCULATED HONG KONG'S TOTAL TAX REVENUE AT ONLY 11.5% OF LOWEST OF ALL 36 ECONOMIES SURVEYED.

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