Mi
become more confident and more optimistic about business prospects in the second half of the year, with steady growth envisaged. Third, in the
the second quarter, some manufacturers
of electronics, watches and clocks, and metal products, expressed concern over the adverse effect on their production costs of the appreciation of the Yen against the Hong Kong dollar, as a large part of their material inputs were imported from Japan.
5.4
Changes in labour productivity (defined as output
per employee) in the manufacturing sector can be measured in
terms of changes in the ratio of
of the industrial production index to the corresponding employment index. On this basis,
labour productivity in manufacturing increased by 10% in the
first quarter of 1986 over the same quarter last year.
Overtime work was the main factor behind this significant
increase.
Property
5.5
The private residential property market appeared to have entered a period of consolidation in the first half of
1986, with prices and rentals for most classes of residential
property remaining steady. Demand for office space continued to be strong and, given the low level of completions, the vacancy rate is expected to decline further this year. Demand
for industrial accommodation also remained firm in the first
half.
5.6
In the first half of 1986, the supply of new private.
sector property, in terms of total usable floor area
completed, was 1.2 million square metres. This represents a
decrease of 22% over the first half of 1985. Completions in
respect of all major categories of private property decreased.
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/Usable