TNAG-0767-FCO40-971-Supplies-of-electrical-power-for-Hong-Kong-Castle-Peak-power-1978 — Page 144

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1 Thing hing Goverment (1978)

115 pm the description above, it can be seen that the difficulties of making accurate estimates-are-great and signant assumptions and approximations have to be made at various stages in the estimation. The estimates therefore should be regarded as subject to a wider margin of error than other expenditure categories. Such difficul- ties-are-also encountered by most countries in the compilation of their estimates of this item.

Imports and exports of goods and services

116 Estimates of imports and exports of services are the weakest of all the estimates and those for “transportation, n.e.s.", "travel" and "other" are in particular seriously incomplete.

117 Expenditure by foreign tourists and by U.S. military personnel in Hong Kong (up to 1972) were the most important in the estimates of imports and exports of services. The Hong Kong Tourist Association carries out a half-yearly systematic sample survey of 900 tourists to obtain, among other things, an estimate of total expenditure and of some of the items of expenditure by tourists. There may well be some under-estimation.

118. In the 1966 tourist study, a much larger sample was covered and special arrangements were made to interview U.S. military personnel. In the half-yearly follow up surveys this was not possible and only a few U.S. military personnel were interviewed in 1968, 1969 and 1970.

119 Systems have not been developed in Hong Kong to record the great volume of business transacted by residents with the rest of the world. For this reason, a number of import and export items find no place in these estimates. Almost all the missing items would be included under non-factor services and it is generally felt that exports of non-factor services, in the case of Hong Kong, always exceed imports. In order to make the estimates more complete therefore, an arbitrary adjustment of 5 per cent of the calculated total exports of goods and services has been added to the calculated estimate of net exports of goods and services to account for the missing items. A list of the items for which no data was available and no sensible estimate could be made is given below:—

Import

Transportion

ITEMS NOT INCLUDED IN THE IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF

GOODS AND SERVICES ESTIMATES

1 Time charter of ships and aircraft

2 Expenditure abroad of domestic ships and

aircraft

(a) Stores

(b) Fuel oil

(c) Port and airport charges

(d) Repairs, maintenance and servicing

3 Expenditure abroad of resident ship and aircraft

crews

4 Other revenue of foreign airline and shipping

companies

Other

A Government

1

Collections in H.K. by foreign consulates and trade commissions

B Other services

I

Non-merchandise insurance

(a) Premiums paid by residents to local offices or

agents of foreign insurance companies

(b) Claims paid to foreign by domestic insurance

companies

Export

Freight and insurance

1 Freight and insurance on exports and imports

Transportation

1 Passenger fares

2 Time charter of ships and aircraft

3 Expenditure in H.K. of foreign airline and ship-

ping companies

(a) Stores

(b) Repairs, maintenance and servicing

4 Other international revenue of domestic airline

and shipping companies

Travel

1 Expenditure of foreign students in H.K.

Other

A

Government

1 Receipts of overseas offices

B Other services

1

Non-merchandise insurance

(a) Premiums collected by domestic insurance

companies

(b) Claims paid to residents by local oflices or

agents of foreign insurance companies

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