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next three years it trebled; in each of the next three year periods it doubled. Hong Kong now takes the largest proportion of
Britain's investment in Asia.
Net UK direct investment in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia in
each of the years 1984, 85, 86 and 87 was:
HONG KONG
SINGAPORE
MALAYSIA
1984
£42m
£200m
£107m
1985
£90m
£156m
£ 30m
1986
£178m
£ 47m
£ 5m
1987
£280m
£176m
£ 87m
7
The surveys undertaken by the DTI cover investment in all
sectors of the economy including financial and other services.
The only foreign investment figures available from Hong Kong authorities are for the manufacturing sector. In the absence of
more extensive local information, these manufacturing figures have
often been misread as total investment in all sectors. This has
led to considerable misunderstanding. Generally, British
companies have invested less in the manufacturing sector and more elsewhere in the economy. At the end of 1986 British companies
accounted for 7.8 percent (at book value) of the foreign-held
fixed assets in manufacturing. However total British investment
throughout the economy was a much greater proportion than this.
8 Even within the manufacturing sector, the local figures have
not given a comprehensive picture of British involvement. They have not included all the investment made through locally- incorporated companies. As most British companies operating in Hong Kong choose to incorporate here, this has meant that much of their investment and that of their subsidiaries has not appeared
as British. For example, almost all the investment of the Swire
Group in Hong Kong is made through Swire Pacific or its other
subsidiaries and has not shown up as a British (or part-British)
investment.