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A question-and-answer session will follow immediately after the briefing.

Negotiations on basic telecommunications services conducted under the auspices of the WTO were successfully concluded on February 15.

A total of 69 member governments of the WTO have made binding commitments to open up their telecommunications markets.

The far-reaching agreement provides telecommunications service suppliers access to the global telecommunications markets, estimated at over US$600 billion per

annum.

End

Provisional statistics of retail sales for December 1996

The value of total retail sales in December 1996, estimated at $22 billion, increased by 8% when compared with December 1995. After discounting the effect of price changes over the period, total retail sales increased by 3% in volume.

For 1996 as a whole, total retail sales rose by 6% in value and 2% in volume when compared with 1995. This reflected a gradual pick-up in consumer spending in 1996, from the increase of 5% in value and decline of 1% in volume in 1995.

These are provisional figures on retail sales released today (Friday) by the Census and Statistics Department.

Compared with a year ago, the increase in December 1996 was mainly attributable to the significant surge in sales of motor vehicles (26% in both value and volume), and jewellery, watches and clocks and valuable gifts (12% in value and 14% in volume).

Concurrently, sales of some other commodities also recorded increases of various magnitudes in both value and volume terms. These included other consumer durable goods (11% in value and 9% in volume); miscellaneous consumer goods (11% in value and 5% in volume) and food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (5% in value and 1% in volume).

On the other hand, sales in supermarkets and department stores both registered an increase of 4% in value. This, however, represented decreases of 2% and 5% in volume respectively. Similarly, sales of clothing and footwear and fuels rose by 8% and 5% in value respectively, but both went down by 4% in volume.