TNAG-1413-FCO40-1889-Future-of-Hong-Kong-annual-report-to-Parliament-on-Hong-Kong-1985 — Page 24

الم

CONFIDENTIAL

ne

senior ranks had to be

its

at a faster pace than hither to achieved;

a steering group of senior government officials was charged with

recommending to the Governor how this objective was best to be attained without jeopardising either the Force's efficiency or

Initial consideration was given to the possibility of

introducing a limited compensation scheme on lines similar to

schemes introduced in to former British dependent territories at the

time of constitutional

enable pensionable

morale.

change, which among other things, would

overseas officers who were either required to

make way for local officers,

retire, or superseded for promotion

to be compensated for loss of career.

IV.

STATE OF THE ECONOMY

27.

The Sino-British Joint Declaration on the question of Hong

Kong removed much of the shadow of uncertainty which had hung over

the Hong Kong economy in 1983 and most of 1984. But the economy

hence vulnerable to external forces

remained dependent on trade

outside Hong Kong's control.

and

28.

The

After a year of strong export-led

the growth,

Hong Kong

economy

showed signs of slowing down in 1985, in line with many

other economies. For 1985 as a whole the estimated growth rate of Hong Kong's GDP was 41/2% to 5%, compared with 9.4% for 1984.

future performance of domestic exports added an extra element of uncertainty to this forecast. Exports were increasingly affected by the growing threat of protectionism in Hong Kong's export markets.

29.

The performance of the Hong Kong economy as a whole over the

period of review was characterised by a fall in domestic exports,

counterbalanced by a substantial growth in

substantial growth in re-exports, a low rate of

unemployment, and a a low rate of inflation.

traditional

export markets,

30.

The fall in domestic exports was largely due to weak demand in

Hong Kong's

the notably

United States

and the EEC. Hong Kong's domestic exports and re-exports to China, however, continued to show substantial growth. In addition to being

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