TRADE AND INDUSTRY
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reserved commodities, pharmaceutical products and medicines, pesticides, radioactive substances and irradiating apparatus, left-hand-drive vehicles and ozone-depleting substances.
Hong Kong maintains a certification of origin system that, apart from enabling the origin of goods which Hong Kong exports to be established, also supports claims for preferential tariff treatment from donor countries where such schemes are operated. The Trade Department administers this system and issues certificates of origin where required. Five other organisations have been designated by the government to issue certificates of origin. They are the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Indian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce.
Electronic Data Interchange
Hong Kong's use of electronic data interchange has continued to expand. Electronic data interchange, the computer-to-computer exchange of business information in standard formats, is one of the techniques being implemented world-wide in an attempt to curb the amount of paperwork involved in business and to improve efficiency.
During the year, final testing of the Community Electronic Trading Service (CETS) was completed and the CETS became operational in September. The CETS is a joint venture involving the government and 10 leading trade-related organisations in Hong Kong. Its initial service covers applications for export licences for textiles and clothing shipped under quota and lodgements of trade declarations. Coupled with the private sector electronic data interchange services already on offer, the stage is set for a significant increase in the number of companies using electronic data interchange in Hong Kong.
In the interests of compatibility, the government agreed that the United Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport, a standard developed by the UN for electronic trading, will be adopted for government transactions wherever applicable. The government is pleased to note that the private sector services also incorporate this standard.
The Industry Department
The mission of the Industry Department is to facilitate the development of manufacturing and manufacturing-support industries in Hong Kong within the framework of a free market. To achieve this, the department works with its partners in government, business, tertiary institutions and industrial support organisations to provide the necessary land, physical infrastructure and trained people to facilitate access to relevant technologies; to encourage applied research and development; and to monitor developments in markets and technologies which may impinge upon the competitiveness of the local manufacturing sector.
Land
The government put up 26 208 square metres of industrial land for sale by tender in 1996. Private developers provided an additional 26 800 square metres of flatted factory space in 1995. Construction of the second phase of the Tseung Kwan O