TNAG-0548-FCO40-643-Ministerial-briefs-for-meetings-with-Hong-Kong-press-1976 — Page 18

LORD GORONWY-ROBERTS'S MEETING WITH MR KEVIN SINCLAIR OF THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - 10 DECEMBER 1975

BRIEF NO. 8: THE HONG KONG ECONOMY AND SOCIAL PROGRAMMES

Line to Take

1. HMG welcomes the added impetus that has been given to social

programmes in Hong Kong in recent years.

2. It was unfortunate that the series of 10 year programmes recently

introduced have coincided with the present worldwide economic recession

so that some rephasing has been necessary, particularly in the housing and educational fields. We hope that there may be some scope for re-acceleration of these programmes when the economy picks up.

Iconomy

3. We have noted signs that the Hong Kong "recession may have bottomed out, though this cannot be asserted with any degree of certainty. Much depends on the outlook for the United States economy which takes 35% (by value) of Hong Kong's domestic exports.