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HONG KONG IN TOUCH WITH THE WORLD

has a substantial domestic market for telecommunications equipment, for the territory's businessmen are quick to take advantage of new electronic aids which keep them more effectively in touch with the world.

The shifts of emphasis in Hong Kong's economy, and the impressive trade figures they have produced, would not have been possible without the associated services that Hong Kong provides to support the flow of goods: the banking network providing finance for trade, for the expansion of existing plant or for the opening of new factories; the high technology communication which puts London, New York, Vancouver or Sydney only as far away as the time it takes to punch buttons on a computer keyboard or a telephone; the free flow of foreign currency flashing in and out in microseconds to finance a trade deal or take advantage of a sudden movement in exchange rates.

Keeping in Touch

Off Telegraph Bay, on the southwestern corner of Hong Kong Island, a group of local people are swimming from their pleasure junk. From a cruiser moored nearby comes the distinctive sound of a telephone ringing. A crew member shouts over the side, and a man climbs out of the water to take the call. The businessman enjoying a sunny weekend outing with his family may not be actively seeking business - yet he does not have to, for business will seek him.

Although some people might regard a boat or car portable telephone as more of an intrusion than an asset, they are in widespread use in the territory and have come to symbolise Hong Kong's reliance on the latest technology to keep in touch with the world.

It was more than a century ago that the first submarine telegraph cable was dragged ashore in Telegraph Bay, pulling Hong Kong into a new era of electronic communications. Suddenly, in 1871, London was minutes away, rather than weeks. In 1882, only six years after Alexander Graham Bell invented the instrument, Hong Kong installed its first public telephone system. While early growth was slow, the territory increasingly took advantage of developments in communications.

Another milestone was reached with the arrival of the first trunk cable in 1931 allowing telephone calls to be made from Hong Kong to Canton. Later, in 1949, radio telephone links were established to the United States, Britain, and to parts of China. A telex service began in 1959, and in 1967 the Southeast Asia Commonwealth submarine cable (SEACOM) introduced international telephone calls by cable. In 1969, the first satellite earth station opened, bringing international telephone and television transmission and reception.

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In 1976, the introduction of International Direct Dialling (IDD) saw savings in time and money for international calls made without using an operator. The use of IDD has proved popular, and calls to more than 130 countries can now be direct-dialled. For those who lack an IDD connection on their home telephone, or for the businessman away from his office, card-operated IDD telephones have been installed in many areas of Hong Kong. Using a stored value ticket - not unlike those used by regular travellers on Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway -- IDD calls can be made from some designated public telephones with a digital readout telling the caller how much remains stored on the ticket.

So popular is the telephone now in Hong Kong that small queues of people can often be seen outside shops, especially fast-food outlets, waiting to use telephones provided for free public use by the owners. And Hong Kong is one of the few cities in the world where one can buy a telephone on the way to or from work. A Cable and Wireless subsidiary has opened shops on some of the Mass Transit Railway stations where customers can