6
Industry and Trade
INDUSTRY
In the last decade there has been a fundamental change in the pattern of Hong Kong's economy. Industry, which before the Second World War was of minor importance, has now assumed the predominant role. The circumstances which led to this signi- ficant change from a mainly commercial to an industrial economy were the subject of the opening chapter of the Annual Report for 1958.
Today there are 5,599 registered and recorded factories employing 234,533 persons in Hong Kong. Details of these figures will be found in the Appendices to Chapter 3. Chinese residents of the Colony own and operate the great majority of these concerns. In addition, a large number of smaller businesses, mostly pursuing traditional Chinese handicraft activities and in many cases set up by refugees, employ over 150,000 people.
No special benefits are available to industry by way of profits tax or import duty concessions. Apart from a few revenue- producing duties, the Colony is a free port and Government regu- lation of trade is kept to a minium.
The variety of goods produced by local industry is now con- siderable, but while the heavier industries such as shipbuilding and shipbreaking continue to be important, the Colony has become best known in general for the price, quality and range of the products of its light industries. Of importance are cotton piece- goods, cotton yarn, towelling, ready-made garments of all kinds, cotton and woollen gloves, enamelware, aluminiumware, torches, torch batteries and bulbs, vacuum flasks, plasticware including plastic flowers, paints and varnishes, rubber and leather footwear, and rattanware. Among the traditional Chinese goods produced the best known are brocade piecegoods, embroideries and drawn- work, crocheted gloves, carved articles of wood and ivory and