CONFIDENTIAL
VISIT OF THE MINISTER OF STATE
LORD SHEPHERD)
TO HONG KONG, MAY/JUNE 1969
Note No.16
TRADE
The Minister is familiar with the background of Hong Kong's increasing commercial prosperity. The Colony's total overseas
trade in 1968 was more than £1500 million. Imports and exports for 1967 and 1968 are shown in the table below.
1967
1968
Increase/Decrease
HK A Million
HK A Million
HK 8 Million
%
Imports
10.449 (£653m.)
12,472 (£848m.)
+ 2,023
+ 19.4
Exports
6,700
(£419.)
8,428 (£573m.)
+ 1,728
+ 25.8
Re-exports
2,081 (£130m.)
2,142 (£148m.)
61
+ 2.9
2. UK trade with Hong Kong increases and the Colony continues to provide an expanding market. But competition, particularly from Japan, also increases and the UK percentage of oversll Hong Kong imports declines. This is illustrated in the table below.
Percentages of Hong Kong Imports Supplied by Various Countries
Countries
1966
1967
1968
United Kingdom
10.0%
9.4%
8.7%
China
27.4%
21.8%
19.5%
Japan
18.2%
19.1%
22.8%
United States of America
10.8%
13.5%
13.8%
Germany
3..7%
3.0%
3.2%
Australia
2.1%
2.5%
2.5%
30
The success of Hong Kong's export trade has naturally led to counter-pressures from industries in importing countries for import restrictions and/or voluntary restraint on the part of Hong Kong. While very vulnerable to the adoption of any protection- ist policy by countries constituting her major markets Hong Kong
/ has been
CONFIDENTIAL
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