10.
and
to
To further this objective, I introduced
I introduced the Banking
Deposit-taking Companies Amendment Bills
the
Legislative Council last month. Some of the amendments flowed
from recent experience. Their overall thrust is to produce an
improved and somewhat tougher regulatory environment for
registered dtc's, with some associated changes for licensed
dtc's and, to a lesser extent, banks. If necessary,
measures will be introduced.
determination.
further
Have no doubt of my
11.
The property sector is one area where activity has
shown virtually no signs of revival, except for small
residential flats where demand has remained fairly buoyant.
There is in general terms an over-supply of finished property,
reflecting with the wisdom of hindsight a degree of bad planning and marketing in the past by some speculative developers aided of course by those who financed them. Demand
has also been constrained by the slower growth in incomes and
wealth last year because of the recession and by the
prevailing anxiety about
anxiety about the political future of Hong Kong.
Consequently, prices and rentals for commercial and,
particularly, industrial property have now fallen to a level
which places Hong Kong in a nighly competitive position in comparison with other big cities particularly in terms of foreign currency, which
which should
should be attractive to foreign and
domestic investors. Once again the market has adjusted. am, however, aware of the problems faced by building and construction firms and by construction workers who have lost
their jobs or who have to work shorter hours.
I
12.
The employment situation of the labour force as a
whole has nowever greatly improved. Both the unemployment
rate and the underemployment rate have fallen. In the three
months May to July, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
was 3.9% and the
was 1.7%, both well
underemployment
rate
LO
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