INDUSTRY AND TRADE
other organisations, but the responsibility for monitoring the adequacy of provision rests with the Industry Department.
On the external relations front, Hong Kong joined the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum in November 1991. APEC is an inter-governmental economic forum inaugurated in 1989. The main objectives are to strengthen the multilateral trading system, to assess prospects for and obstacles to increased trade and investment flows within the Asia Pacific region and to identify a range of practical common economic interests. Apart from Hong Kong, current members include the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, China, Chinese Taipei and the six countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Hong Kong became a full member of the Pacific Economic Co-operation Conference (PECC) in May 1991. PECC is a non- governmental organisation comprising tripartite membership drawn from academia and private and public sectors, seeking to develop closer cooperation on trade and economic policy issues within the Asia Pacific region.
In the industrial field, although total employment in manufacturing fell by 13 per cent in 1992 from the previous year's figure, the total value of Hong Kong's manufactured exports rose by one per cent, compared with an increase of two per cent in 1991. Besides confirming its worldwide reputation as a manufacturer and exporter of manufactured consumer goods, Hong Kong also reinforced its growing role as a major service and sourcing centre for the Asian region. The value of the territory's re-exports grew by an impressive 29 per cent in 1992.
Hong Kong's continuing success as a leading manufacturing and commercial centre is due to a simple tax structure and low tax rate, a versatile and industrious workforce, an aggressive and innovative managerial class, efficient transport facilities, a fine harbour, excellent international communications, and the government's firm commitment to free trade and free enterprise. These factors remained as important as ever during the year.
Faced with increasing competition from low-cost economies in the region, rising labour costs at home, and demand in its major export markets for ever-higher standards of quality, Hong Kong's manufacturers can no longer compete in the territory's major export markets on price and speed of response alone. Manufacturers are moving decisively away from labour-intensive production into the manufacture of high-value-added products which can compete on quality. In this respect, the Hong Kong Productivity Council continued to feature in the past year as the government's principal agent in helping the manufacturing sector improve its productivity and move up the value-added ladder. With its expertise in different disciplines, the council offers diversified services including management consultancies, training programmes and technological support services.
At the same time, this restructuring is supported by the government, which is implementing a comprehensive quality improvement programme to develop the territory's existing quality infrastructure and to encourage the greater use of quality assurance in manufacturing through a Quality Awareness Campaign. In addition, the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA) has been established to provide third party assess- ment of companies' quality management systems according to the ISO 9000 standards and to award ISO 9000 certification to companies that meet the necessary standards. These quality improvement activities have helped to enhance the quality of Hong Kong's products and services.
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