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exist between us in banking, shipping, merchanting, finance

and trade generally. I said that we have sent out over 200

trade missions in ten years but it is a striking fact that

we have sent more to Hong Kong than to any other one place.

This is the sixth. This speaks volumes not only for your

hospitality but also for our sustained interest in your

market. The London Chamber in fact has a special section

dealing solely with Hong Kong. It was set up in the mid 1950's at a time when Hong Kong-made goods were being

subjected to a considerable amount of adverse publicity

in Britain and it now has nearly 2,000 member firms who

elect their own Chairman and Committee. One only has to name

the last four Chairmen Mr. Hamm of Dodwells, Mr. Grimwood

of John D. Hutchinson, Mr. Scott of John Swire and Mr. Michael

Herries of Jardine Matheson, to prove that the spirit of Hong Kong is very much alive and well within the London

Chamber.

The idea of setting up such a section was to reach a wider

audience than the Hong Kong Association, although the two

bodies work very closely together. Since its formation we

have seen a regular exchange of missions and the Section has

provided a London platform for many speakers from Hong Kong.

Indeed one of the most successful section meetings ever held

at the London Chamber or I should say by the Chamber, as

-

the audience was so great it had to be held outside.

was the

one addressed a few years ago by Sir David Trench when he

was Governor.

Mr. President, my all too brief acquaintance with Hong Kong

has been more than enough to reinforce my long-standing

conviction of the great value of Hong Kong to Britain :

. . . / . . .