ICI (CHINA) LTD.
HONG KONG
ICI INTEREST IN EXPORTING
APPENDIX 2
ICI do not have a major interest in exporting. They do not wish the possibility of exports to be totally excluded however, as these might assist in improving the profitability of the plant in times of low
• demand in Hong Kong. Such a philosophy would not seriously conflict with the Mines Dept declared objective to maintain low stocks' in llong Kong but would be inconsistent with their original desire to eliminate the holding of substantial quantities of explosives on board ships in the harbour, In addition there are the following commercial and technical problems associated with exporting.
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Commercial
Substantial exports will be difficult to obtain. Domestic manufactur- ing capabilities exist in Taiwan and the Philippines, and substantial tariffs are operative in these countries. Remoter markets such as Malaya and Thailand do not have a significant requirement and although Indonesia is a potentially good prospect, current reorganisation of local manufacture under consideration will make this market inaccessible.
Technical
CILSA regulations restrict the production capacity to approximately 6 tons per shift. The Mines Dept have requested single shift operation for security purposes. Assuming a 250-day year, plant output is there- fore restricted to 1,500 tps.
This output matches projected domestic consumption in Hong Kong in 5 years' time and thus exports are only possible before then.
Hong Kong consumption of explosives is currently about 800 tpa. The magazine storage space available is insufficient to maintain adequate stocks to meet peak local demand and to maintain regular exports at any substantial level.
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