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AND THE ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES FACED BY SOME COMPANIES IN THE U.K. DISAPPOINTINGLY THE NUMBER OF BRITISH BUSINESSMEN VISITING HONG KONG UNDER BOTB SPONSORED ARRANGEMENTS IS ALREADY SHOWING A DECLINE THIS YEAR.
4. WHILE HONG KONG EXPERIENCED, FOR THE SECOND YEAR RUNNING, BELOW AVERAGE GROWTH, TOTAL IMPORTS STILL ROSE BY ABOUT 11 PER CENT IN 1990 OVER 1989. SOME OF OUR COMPETITORS ARE DOING COMPARATIVELY BETTER THAN US. GERMANY REMAINS HONG KONG'S SIXTH SUPPLIER. BRITAIN IS SEVENTH, WITH SWITZERLAND, ITALY AND FRANCE NOR FAR BEHIND.
5. COMMERCIAL PRACTICE, BANKING PROCEDURE AND COMPANY LAW ALL REFLECT CONDITIONS WITH WHICH BRITISH COMPANIES ARE FAMILIAR. THIS OUGHT TO GIVE US AN EDGE OVER OUR EUROPEAN PARTNERS. BRITISH-MADE DOUBLE-DECK BUSES AND MASS TRANSIT TRAINS STILL HAVE A NEAR EXCLUSIVE HOLD IN THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT SECTOR, BUT SALES OF BRITISH VEHICLES GENERALLY HAVE DROPPED TO VERY LOW LEVELS. IN THE LUXURY CAR SECTOR JAGUAR, OUR BEST SELLING CAR IN HONG KONG, SOLD 195 VEHICLES IN 1990, ABOUT 8 PER CENT OF MERCEDES SALES.
U.K. INVESTMENT
6.
WHILE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE PRECISE, BRITISH COMPANY INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG CONTINUES TO PROVIDE A VALUABLE RETURN. NET ASSETS OF BRITISH OWNED COMPANIES IN HONG KONG ARE THOUGHT TO BE WORTH ABOUT POUNDS 3 BILLION. TOTAL NET ASSETS OF COMPANIES CONTROLLED FROM BRITAIN ARE ABOUT POUNDS 6 BILLION. THE TOTAL GROSS STOCK MARKET VALUE OF BRITISH OWNED OR CONTROLLED COMPANIES IS AROUND POUNDS 22 BILLION. THESE FIGURES AMPLY ILLUSTRATE BRITAIN'S COMMITMENT. AS 1997 APPROACHES MORE OF THE OLD MAJOR BRITISH INVESTMENTS IN HONG KONG WHO IN RECENT YEARS HAVE STRESSED THAT THEY ARE HONG KONG RATHER THAN BRITISH COMPANIES, ARE BEGINNING TO REASSERT THEIR BRITISHNESS. JARDINES ARE SEEKING A LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE LISTING. THE HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI BANK HAS RECENTLY RESTRUCTURED UNDER A U.K. HOLDING COMPANY. THIS UNDERLINES THE TRUE SIZE OF OUR VERY LARGE STAKE IN THE HONG KONG ECONOMY. INVISIBLE EARNINGS FROM HONG KONG PUT IN RECENT YEARS AT AN ANNUAL AVERAGE OF SOME POUNDS 1 BILLION NET BUT WHICH MAY WELL BE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER ARE IMPORTANT. INVISIBLES REVENUE
REDRESSES THE LONG ESTABLISHED IMBALANCE IN HONG KONG'S FAVOUR IN VISIBLE TRADE. TWO-WAY TRADE IN VISIBLES AND INVISIBLES ARE
ROUGHLY IN BALANCE.
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