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HONG KONG MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IN THE SIXTIES
as being of the order of eight per cent of total capital investment in manufacturing industry. Such investment has been especially welcome where it has led to innovation or more effective spe- cialisation.
By the end of the fifties, some Hong Kong industrialists had established branch factories overseas, usually to retain or gain access to traditional markets. In the sixties, this movement ac- celerated significantly, partly for the reasons mentioned above, but also as a hedge against commercial and political risks and as a means of increasing output when labour was becoming scarcer and more expensive in Hong Kong. Special inducements or concessions to industrial development stimulated many industrialists to inves- tigate, and some to select, Taiwan and Singapore in particular as sites for branch factories during the latter half of the decade. The loss--and it is arguable that it is a gain, although frequently depicted as a loss to manufacturing industry has been inconspicuous.
THE FUTURE
Unquestionably the two most important factors in this success story are the indomitable will of management to win through and the willingness of workers to work. It would also be reasonable to claim that important among many contributory factors have been stable and consistent administration during a period of general restlessness elsewhere in South Asia, continuation of pragmatic liberal economic policies, good judgment with infrastructural devel- opment, and that element of luck which is an essential ingredient of successful enterprise, both public as well as private. As to the future, it lies as always primarily in the hands of the people.
In the last five years, it has been noticeable that the generation of managers who laid the foundations of new manufacturing industry immediately after the war has been withdrawing from the scene. In many cases they have been replaced by sons or kindred more highly educated, better informed about the international scene, but with the will to succeed perhaps even more highly developed. A glance at the advertisement columns of the newspapers discloses the change in methods of recruiting and qualities sought for management outside the family structure. These are the new managers or managing directors of that five per cent or so of all