XN000022-1996-05-09 — Page 3

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Trade outlook shows signs of improvement: FS

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The Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, said today (Thursday) that there were signs of improvement in the trade outlook of Hong Kong in the next few months, notwithstanding a more volatile export performance in the first quarter of the year.

Speaking at the luncheon meeting of the Hong Kong Exporters Association, Mr Tsang said more orders had been received most recently than in the early part of the year, and producers' orders for raw materials had also increased.

He said all these suggested a positive production prospect into the third quarter of this year.

"While we should not be pessimistic or complacent, it would only be prudent for us to monitor the situation closely. And this I and my colleagues will do in the coming months," he said.

Mr Tsang said the provisional external trade figures for the month of March released recently did not come as a complete surprise, for he had anticipated in his Budget Speech that the slow growth in the latter part of 1995 would linger on in the early part of 1996.

There were also other extraordinary factors, he said, adding that these included the cold weather in the United States, the expectation for import tariff cuts in China with effect from April, the earlier tension across the Taiwan Strait, and the late timing of the Lunar New Year combined in March.

"So, let no one draw any rash conclusion that a trade slump is emerging on the basis of such provisional trade figures," he added.

Mr Tsang also briefly outlined Government's recent plans to promote regional economic co-operation.

"Our task is to ensure that Hong Kong will continue to play a leading role in contributing towards regional trade liberalisation in the decade ahead. Our aim is to bring regional co-operation and prosperity to a higher plateau across a wide spectrum of economic activities," he said.

Mr Tsang would lead a Hong Kong delegation next week to visit Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to foster better mutual understanding and closer business ties, and to enhance co-operation with service suppliers in the region.

The theme of the visit

is "Building a Strategic Partnership".