FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1981
CI REVIEWS THE PAST AND ANTICIPATES THE FUTURE
****
THE COMMISSIONER OF INDUSTRY, MR PETER TSAO SAID TONIGHT (FRIDAY) THAT THE PERFORMANCE OF HONG KONG'S INDUSTRY IN THE PAST YEAR HAS PROVED ONCE AGAIN THAT, WITH ITS SOLID FOUNDATION, IT IS CAPABLE OF WITHSTANDING PERSIST CHALLENGES.
ADDRESSING THE DINNER MEETING OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF KWUN TONG, MR TSAO GAVE A BRIEF REVIEW OF OUR INDUSTRIAL SCENE IN 1981.
+THE DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN THE FIRST THREE QUARTERS OF 1981 AMOUNTED TO $58 BILLION, REPRESENTING A 16 PER CENT GROWTH OVER THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD IN 1980, ALL OUR MAJOR INDUSTRIES SHOWED INCREASES IN EXPORTS. TEXTILES, INCLUDING GARMENTS, GREW BY 19 PER CENT TO $24.1 BILLION, WHILE ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS ROSE BY 12 PER CENT TO $6.7 BILLION, HE SAID.
+EXPORTS TO THE UNITED STATES, HONG KONG'S LARGEST MARKET, INCREASED BY 24 PER CENT WHILST TO THE UNITED KINGDOM, OUR SECOND LARGEST MARKET, THE INCREASE WAS 13 PER CENT. HOWEVER, EXPORTS TO OUR THIRD LARGEST MARKET, THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, WERE DOWN BY FIVE PER CENT.
+ IN THE FACE OF PREVAILING RECESSIONS IN OUR MAJOR MARKETS WORLD-WIDE, THE PERFORMANCE OF HONG KONG'S INDUSTRY WAS SATISFACTORY, MR TSAO CONTINUED.
REFERRING TO RECENT COMMENTS ON THE STATE OF THEIR INDUSTRIES BY INDUSTRALISTS, MR TSAO SAID THAT ACTUAL CONDITIONS VARIED FROM ONE INDUSTRY TO ANOTHER.
+GENERALLY SPEAKING, 1981 WAS A YEAR OF SHORT-TERM ORDERS NARROW PROFIT MARGINS, HIGH INTEREST RATES, AND UNSTABLE WAGES AND MATERIAL COSTS. AND MANY PROBLEMS HAD TO BE SOLVED.
FORTUNATELY, DESPITE THESE DIFFICULTIES, THE FOUNDATION OF OUR
INDUSTRY HAS REMAINED INTACT.
+NOW THAT BANK LENDING RATES HAVE GONE DOWN CONSIDERABLY AND THE STOCKS IN OUR MAJOR MARKETS ARE GETTING LOW, OUR INDUSTRY SHOULD HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF RECOVERY IN THE COMING YEAR.◄
MR TSAO CONTINUED: IN FACT, AFTER 20 TO 30 YEARS OF EFFORT,
OUR INDUSTRY HAS GONE A LONG WAY FROM ITS PRIMITIVE STAGENANCE AND
INDUSTRY, TOGETHER WITH OTHER SECTORS SUCH AS COMMERCE TRANSPORT, HAVE CREATED A VERY SOUND ECONOMIC STRUCTURE. INDIVIDUAL LINES OF PRODUCTION HAVE BEEN AUTOMATED TO A GREAT EXTENT AND WE HAVE A HIGH-SKILLED, EXPERIENCED LABOUR FORCE. MOREOVER, WE POSSESS A RATHER COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORTING AND SERVICING ENTERPRISE NETWORK. IN THE ELECTRONIC INDUSTRY PRODUCTS CAN NOW BE ASSEMBLED FROM LOCALLY-MADE PARTS WITH LOCALLY-MADE MACHINERY WITHOUT RELYING ON OVERSEAS SUPPLIES.+
EXPLAINING THE GOVERNMENT'S INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY, MR TSAO POINTED OUT THAT UNDER A FREE ECONOMY, THE GOVERNMENT ADOPTED A TWO-FOLD POLICY TO REMOVE EXTERNALLY OBSTACLES TO OUR EXPORT TRADE SO THAT THE PRODUCTS OF HONG KONG COULD ENJOY A FAIR AND REASONABLE TREATMENT IN ALL MARKETS, AND TO ESTABLISH INTERNALLY A SOUND AND EFFECTIVE ECONOMIC STRUCTURE WHICH ENABLED INDIVIDUAL SECTORS TO PERFORM THEIR BEST.
ALTHOUGH THE