XN000022-1994-06-23 — Page 9

THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 1994

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FURTHERMORE, MR BLAKE SAID, FUTURE RAILWAY SYSTEMS PROPOSED

THE RECENTLY PUBLISHED RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT STUDY SHOULD HELP SECURE HONG KONG'S STRATEGIC ROLE AS A PORT, TRADE AND BUSINESS CENTRE IN THE REGION,

A NEW FREIGHT RAIL LINE FROM CHINA BORDER TO HONG KONG'S PORT IS INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSALS, HE SAID.

MR BLAKE SAID THERE WAS ALSO PLAN TO BUILD ROUTE-3, A DUAL THREE-LANE HIGHWAY IN THE WESTERN NEW TERRITORIES LINKING THE BORDER WITH CHINA AND OPEN IN 1998.

THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE WILL BE AN INTEGRATED RAIL AND ROAD TRANSPORT SYSTEM, THAT MATCHES DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA, AND BETTER SERVE THE NEEDS OF ACCESS INTO THE PORT AND AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT IN THE TERRITORIES, HE SAID.

IN HIS SPEECH, MR BLAKE ALSO GAVE BRIEF ACCOUNTS OF HONG KONG'S 10 AIRPORT CORE PROJECTS AND THEIR PROJECT MANAGE ENT AND COST CONTROL.

HK OFFERS WIDE RANGE OF INVESTMENT OPTIONS

A WIDE RANGE OF OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR OVERSEAS INVESTORS INTERESTED IN EXPLOITING THE ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITIES IN HONG KONG, THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF INDUSTRY, MISS DENISE YUE, SAID TODAY (THURSDAY).

SHE WAS ADDRESSING A SEMINAR ON "HONG KONG'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR FRENCH MANUFACTURERS" AT THE BANQUE NATIONALE DE PARIS (BNP) WORKSHOP IN PARIS DURING THE SECOND LEG OF HER EUROPEAN INVESTMENT PROMOTION VISIT THIS MONTH.

MISS YUE SAID IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR, FRENCH INVESTORS MIGHT CONSIDER TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SUCCESSFUL DIVISION OF LABOUR BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA.

"THEY CAN LOCATE THE LOW VALUE-ADDED, LABOUR- AND LAND- INTENSIVE MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS IN CHINA, AND CONTROL THESE OPERATIONS FROM HONG KONG ΤΟ CAPITALISE ON THE WELL-DEVELOPED FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION FACILITIES THAT EXIST IN HONG KONG, SHE SAID.

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"FRENCH ENTREPRENEURS MAY ALSO CONSIDER MAKING THE MOST OF THE EFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND HIGH QUALITY HUMAN RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN HONG KONG BY UNDERTAKING THE MORE SKILL- AND KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE MANUFACTURING ACTIVITIES AND TECHNOLOGICAL SERVICES IN THE TERRITORY, SHE ADDED.

"

BEING STRATEGICALLY SITUATED AT THE HUB OF ASIA-PACIFIC, HONG KONG IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT LOCATION FOR FRENCH INVESTORS WHO WISH ΤΟ GAIN ACCESS TO THE HUGE MARKET OPPORTUNITIES OF THE REGION AS A RESULT OF ITS GROWING AFFLUENCE.

"TO ILLUSTRATE, 11 OF HONG KONG'S TOP 20 TRADING PARTNERS ARE FROM THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION,

/"IN 1993,