TRADE AND INDUSTRY
establishments employing 44 436 people, and more than 200 publishing houses, including many from overseas which have set up offices or regional headquarters in Hong Kong. Hong Kong printers are investing substantially in advanced machinery and equipment, and are taking positive steps to develop the United States market. The industry constitutes 17.5 per cent of all manufacturing establishments and 13.6 per cent of employment in the manufacturing sector. A majority of the printing factories (71.4 per cent) are engaged in general jobbing work, and most of the remainder deal with related work, such as typesetting and book-binding. There are also 36 newspaper printers.
Use of the latest technology, especially computerised equipment, has enabled the industry to become highly specialised. The local electronics industry contributes to the plant and equipment of both the more sophisticated printing companies and of publishers, who are becoming increasingly involved in the use of data and word- processing systems for editorial production and stock control. The output data can be converted or interfaced with typesetting equipment at a realistic cost, to provide publishers with the additional benefits of fast and cost-efficient printing. Increasingly, Chinese language word-processors are being installed to meet demand.
Domestic exports of printed matter decreased in value terms by 3.1 per cent over the previous year. Material printed locally with a total value of $4.758 billion was exported, with the USA, China, the UK, Taiwan, and Australia being the main customers. Books, pamphlets, newspapers, journals and periodicals accounted for 70 per cent of exports of printed products. The biggest customers for this reading material were the USA, the UK and Taiwan. Overall, the printing and publishing industries contributed 8 per cent of the manufacturing sector's gross output.
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