TNAG-1727-FCO40-2440-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 17

1

2

4

NP 5

exp

6

ť

?

like to commend the Financial Secretary and the Secretary for Monetary Affairs, and all those who report to them, for their efforts last year in what can only be described as a week of trying circumstances, and for their work since then. The phenomenal export-led overall economic performance of Hong Kong was of course not produced by the Financial Secretary and his colleagues. It is the 8 result, principally, of the continued hard work of all in

the community, and of the weaker Hong Kong dollar relative to the currencies of many countries to which we trade or with which we compete. But by the same token, we cannot 12 blame the officials for every and all setbacks.

7

9

10

11

13

15

16

17

I, for

one, am all for prudence, especially when recent events 14 have again more vividly demonstrated than anything else

of late, how thin the ice really is on which we perform

birouettes? our pretty commercial and financial periods and although with a projected 5 GDP, growth rate for Hong Kong 18 this year, we are well above the forecasts of 1-3/4% for

ber cent the OECD, as a as a

is certain about the economic outlook for 1988 and 1989

is its uncertainty. The American economy remains in a

precarious state, Third World debt is still with us, the

19

20

21

22

or

1:75 for cent

whole of 3.8 to 4 for Japan, All that l.

23 banking system around the world still requires

24 strengthening, and global capital and money markets and 25 the foreign exchanges show persistent volatility.

2223

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

-

I personally do not agree with the comment that the Budget

Leitmotiv has no light motif. Reductions in direct taxes, increase in tax allowances, the cut in stamp duty to encourage home ownership, increases in social welfare spending which

include education, housing, medical, social welfare, labour,

ber cent which are to reach a forecasted 46.9 with consolidated account expenditure 1988/89 all point to a budget that 34 attempts to combine caution with an effort to allow the 35 population at large to enjoy, as widely as possible, their 36 share of the territory's economic success and the much

33

<)