INDUSTRY AND TRADE
47
HEAVY INDUSTRIES
Hong Kong shipyards can build ocean-going vessels of up to 10,000 tons dead weight and can also construct and instal their engines. At the other end of the scale, pleasure craft and utility vessels of all kinds, including ocean-going yachts, vehicular and passenger ferries, sloops, cruisers, speedboats of wood and fibre glass, yawls and steel lighters, are regularly produced for local use and for export. The traditional Chinese junk, slightly modified from the basic design used for many centuries, has also been exported as a comfortable and stable pleasure-craft.
The Colony has been among the world's leading centres for ship-breaking for a number of years, although activity in the in- dustry has not completely recovered from the 1962 depression. Much of the scrap obtained is used in rolling mills which produce an estimated 17,000 long-tons a month of mild steel bars, window sections, channels and other metal products used in building con- struction. This represents a large part of the requirements of the Colony's building industry, and in addition a considerable quantity of rods and bars is shipped abroad, principally to south-east Asian countries. Several rolling mills produce brass and aluminium sheets and circles, most of which are used for the manufacture of con- sumer goods. The growth of the steel-rolling industry highlights an important feature of the present state of development of heavy industry in Hong Kong. Separation from its principal markets is among the factors which have produced a concentration of re- sources on light industry, while heavy industry has developed only where a domestic market was available. Two new industrial ventures illustrate this point. The demands of the construction industry have prompted the establishment of one factory to manu- facture spiral welded pipes of all dimensions, and another to produce extruded aluminium door and window frames, both developments of potential significance for the future.
In similar fashion, the expansion of light industry has stimulated the manufacture of machinery and parts. Built originally for do- mestic industry, Hong Kong-made machine tools are now exported to over 76 countries. Of particular importance are plastic blow moulding and injection moulding machines, power presses, lathes and planing machines.