ENG-1986 — Page 100

INDUSTRY AND TRADE

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In China, the council mounted an overseas exhibition featuring more than 3 000 Hong Kong-made products in Peking to coincide with the opening of the council's first office in China.

A variety of Hong Kong business groups under the auspices of the council visited the United States, Europe, China, the Middle East and Japan to enhance old, or establish new, trade contacts. The council also received more than 200 inward missions from more than 40 countries, most notably from the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, China, the Federal Republic of Germany, Canada and Sweden.

In Hong Kong, the council staged the Casual Apparel Show and organised its 12th Hong Kong Toy and Gift Fair, and was involved with the 5th Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair, the Hong Kong Fur Fair and the Hong Kong Gifts and Houseware Fair.

In the very successful department store promotions, the HKTDC joined forces with T. Eaton Company Limited in Canada for a country-wide promotion in February involving 93 stores. In July, the council held a store-wide promotion in San Francisco at I. Magnin and Company, one of the city's more popular stores. And in Japan, it staged promotions in seven of the A.I.C. chain of department stores in October and November.

For the Queen's visit in October, the council staged 'Showcase Hong Kong', a display of more than 3 500 Hong Kong products. The exhibition was opened to the public after the royal ceremonies.

The council puts out two product magazines, a fashion magazine and a newspaper on general circulation. They are Hong Kong Enterprise, a monthly general products magazine; the annual Hong Kong Toys, published each October to coincide with the Hong Kong Toy and Gift Fair; Hong Kong Apparel, a biannual fashion magazine, and the Hong Kong Trader, a monthly newspaper (sent airmail) giving news and views of the territory. The council also publishes three specialised trade magazines Hong Kong Jewellery and Watches (an annual); Hong Kong Electronics and Hong Kong Household (both biannuals) - which are distributed at trade fairs throughout the world. A guidebook, Hong Kong For The Business Visitor, is published annually in seven languages (English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese).

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The council's Overseas Associations Section administers the HK-US Economic Co- operation Committee and the HK-Japan Business Co-operation Committee. In February, the Chief Secretary, Sir David Akers-Jones, led a Hong Kong delegation to the HK-US/ US-HK Economic Co-operation Committees 3rd plenary session in Washington, DC. The committees came out strongly against protection in any

form.

In May, the Governor accompanied a delegation to Tokyo for the 9th plenary session of the HK-Japan/Japan-HK Business Co-operation Committees which discussed Japanese tariffs on fur garments, for 'prior confirmation' on silk fabric imports and technological transfer.

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This section also monitors the activities of seven overseas associations in Sweden, Spain, Canada, Austria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Italy.

Construction work is proceeding on the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the cornerstone of which was laid by the Queen during her visit in October. Supporting facilities for the centre include two five-star hotels - with 1 500 rooms combined - and two towers containing office space, a trade mart and service apartments. The government provided the 2.96-hectare site on the Wan Chai waterfront through a private treaty grant, free of premium. The portion of the development to be retained by the council will ultimately comprise around 73 000 square meters, and will include two 9 100 square metre exhibition halls, a 2000 square metre conference/convention hall, two auditoria with