66
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
The variety of goods produced by local industry is now con- siderable but, in general, while the heavier industries such as ship- building and ship-breaking continue to be important, the Colony has become best noted 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 traditional Chinese goods, brocade piece- goods, embroideries and drawnwork, crocheted gloves, carved articles of wood and ivory, and paper novelties, are the best known.
Many factors favour industrial development in the Colony, in- cluding low taxation, plentiful productive labour, the advantages of a free port, excellent shipping and commercial facilities and a freedom from trade restrictions. These, in general, more than com- pensate for some important handicaps: an absence of raw materials, a scarcity of water and a shortage of land suitable for industrial purposes. While the first cannot be remedied the latter two are being vigorously tackled. The opening chapter of the 1960 Hong Kong Annual Report described the extensive action which has been, and is being, taken to alleviate the water problem and Chapter 14 of this Report gives details of some of the current developments in this field. To offset the shortage of flat land, Government continues to level hilly ground and use the spoil to reclaim land from the sea. The largest of these schemes at present is at Kwun Tong, an area fronting on Kowloon Bay and adjacent to urban Kowloon. Between 1955 and the end of 1961, 180 acres had been reclaimed for industrial use. The full scheme involves the formation of some 514 acres of useful land, of which 275 acres will be for industrial use and 239 for commercial and residential purposes. At the end of the year there were over one hundred factories operating in the area. Further sites of various sizes are sold frequently, according to a programme of sales. The number of workers in the area exceeds 15,000 and represents roughly 6% of the total working force in registered and recorded factories and industrial undertakings in the Colony. Over 50,000 persons already live in the growing township, and the eventual population is ex- pected to be in the region of 250,000.