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exporting place in the world.
Therefore, it is my belief that
the manufacturing sector, which is the largest sector for employment, is the back-bone of our economy and it is towards the development of the manufacturing sector that I wish to express my opinion today.
There are many areas in which the Government can enhance our industrial development. I would like to speak on three topics which I believe are important, product innovation and design, automation and foreign investment promotion.
Product Innovation and Design
As an export orientated economy, our products end up all over the world. The brand "Made in Hong Kong" is no longer
a strange sight. What is important is that our products must carry a reputation of design and quality. The manufacturers in Hong Kong are conscious of the fact that we must maintain a standard that is acceptable to buyers and customers. Dur ing the latter part of 1979, a proposal was put forward to Government to establish a Product Innovation and Design Unit (PIDU). This proposal went through the Government's bureaucratic machinery and to this date, I understand that it is still in the discussion stage with no definitive commitment. Is it in the Government's mind that product
innovation and design is of no importance towards our industrial development? I have often heard high-ranking officials in the Government say that we must move up-market and that we must develop technology intensive industry. would like to ask how are we going to accomplish this? will we begin in the basic requirement of good product design? We continue to hear of the Government's positive non-intervention policy yet Government will provide infrastructural support to strengthen our industrial
But I
When
development. To establish a Product Innovation and Design Unit is certainly in line with the Government policy of providing