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12
(ii)
continued into the first few months of
1987. However, signs of slowing down in
the growth of investment in some
industries were observed, due probably to
the need for consolidation after
substantial amounts of investment were
made last year and to seasonal influences;
Investment in the plastics and knitwear
industries has slowed down somewhat in the
first quarter of 1987 compared with the
fourth quarter of 1986. However, compared
with the first quarter last year,
investment in these two industries
increased. Investment intentions in the
plastic industry were sustained by a good
order book position, notwithstanding the
uncertainty caused by fluctuations in the
prices of plastic raw materials. This
could probably be explained by the fact
that for high quality plastic products,
the raw material cost is only a small
proportion of the total output value. In
the knitwear industry, about 600
computerised thread knitting machines at a value of HK$450 million have been imported for local use during the first quarter of
1987;
(iii) Five dyeing factories of medium size, each
with a capital of HK$20 - 30 million, have been set up during the first quarter; this
compares favourably with last year in
which many new factories were established
but of much smaller size. As regards the
G.F. 326
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