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機密
wages" to attract labour. Despite all the talk in the newspapers of "10,000 workers being laid off because of LLC restrictions" they could see no sign of improvement in the supply of labour, and were hence sceptical and dubious about the reliability of such reports, which they suspected, had probably been exaggerated on purpose. They grumbled about the continuing growth of uncontrolled hawking absorbing young able-bodied workers who could or should have gone into industry. They also argued that although export figures were seen to be rising in major industries such as electronics, plastics, and toys, profit margins had in fact been narrowed by rising wage rates, increased prices of raw materials (particularly those from Japan because of the strengthening of the Japanese Yen), and increased overheads.
(b) Some observers viewed the setback in the textile
and garment exports as a healthy adjustment in reducing the hitherto excessively heavy reliance on this sector for maintaining a healthy export performance. It would, in their view, encourage the diversification of Hong Kong industries. However, respondents from industry and banking warned against optimistic presumptions regarding prospects of diversification, because bank lending to industries had recently decreased rather than increased, and they could see no signs yet of enhanced confidence in industrial investment, des- pite the ample supply of money and low interest rates. Their interpretation was that potential investors still adopted a wait-and-see attitude because of the somewhat gloomy outlook of world economy for 1978, especially in Hong Kong's major export markets.
(c) Predictions were mixed as regards the prospects
of Hong Kong's economy for the next few years. Mention was made of the increasing competition from industries in korea and Taiwan, of pessimistic forecasts in Hong Kong's major markets, of
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