TRADE AND INDUSTRY
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Services Support Fund
The Services Support Fund scheme was set up in July 1996. It aims to provide financial support for projects that will contribute to the development of Hong Kong's services sectors. By December 1997, it had committed $49.5 million for 27 projects undertaken by services-support bodies, trade and industry associations, higher education institutions and professional bodies.
Industrial Support Agencies
Hong Kong Productivity Council
The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) promotes productivity excellence through the provision of professional services to enhance the value-added content of products and services.
In 1997, the HKPC continued to provide the manufacturing industries with professional services. It also implemented initiatives to enhance the productivity of the services industries focusing on service quality, productivity measurement and benchmarking, information technology, applied business management and support for the SMEs. In research and development, the HKPC provided practical and commercially viable solutions to help industries move upmarket and diversify. Its other major initiatives in the year included the alliance with Tradelink to promote electronic data interchange, the establishment of the Hong Kong Software Industry Information Centre, and a study on IT collaboration with the Mainland.
Hong Kong Industrial Technology Centre Corporation
The Hong Kong Industrial Technology Centre Corporation (HKITCC) is a statutory body set up by the government in 1993. It aims to promote technological innovation and the application of new technologies in Hong Kong industry. It has developed three major programmes: the Technology-Based Business Incubation Programme to nurture technology start-ups; the Technology Transfer Programme; and R&D Support and Services Programme to support research and development activities. To extend the HKITCC's services, the government has accepted the case for developing a second Technology Centre. A site in Kowloon Tong has been identified for work to start in 1998.
Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation
The Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation develops and manages industrial estates in Hong Kong. It manages three estates in Tai Po, Yuen Long and Tseung Kwan O, providing a total of 214 hectares of land. It is planning for a fourth estate. Sites in the estates are offered at cost to industries which cannot operate in multi- storey factory buildings.
External Commercial Relations
The HKSAR has full autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial relations. The Basic Law of the HKSAR provides that the HKSAR shall be a separate customs territory and may, using the name 'Hong Kong, China', participate in relevant international organisations and international trade agreements, such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (now the World Trade Organisation — WTO) and arrangements regarding international trade in textiles.