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manufacturing centres in their own right.
However, as
they matured, they became increasingly service centres. Manufacturing production tended to move out, though only gradually, with the Head Offices and other supporting services staying behind. Increasingly these cities became dependent on financial and commercial services and the retail, wholesale and import/export trades for their income and employment.
41.
Hong Kong seems to be moving in the same direction, which in many ways is to be welcomed.
Though
not without their problems, mature cities in the rest of the World continue to provide a wide range of employment opportunities at good and increasing incomes.
42.
This development scenario described above could, however, lead to sectoral problems, particularly for Hong
Industries using less Kong's manufacturing industries. skill-intensive and more land-intensive processes would face increasing competition, and some of them might no longer be viable. In those industries, factories and production processes are increasingly likely to be relocated across the border, resulting in a loss of
If the changes employment opportunities in Hong Kong.
involved take place rapidly, there might be significant problems in terms of economic dislocation and adjustment. Rather than leading to sustained unemployment, a likely consequence would be that real wages in the manufacturing sector would fall relative to those in the services sector. As this occurred some of the jobs in the manufacturing sector would be restored, while part of the
G.F. 326
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