FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 1986
FS VISITS KWAI CHUNG WATCH FACTORY
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THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY, MR PIERS JACOBS, VISITED A KWAI CHUNG WATCH FACTORY TODAY (FRIDAY) TO LOOK AT WHAT MAKES THE LOCAL INDUSTRY TICK.
MR JACOBS WAS TAKEN ON A TOUR OF THE PRECISION ENGINEERING LIMITED WHICH MANUFACTURES ANALOGUE, QUARTZ AND MECHANICAL WATCHES UNDER THE SEIKO BRAND NAME, HE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY THE DIRECTOR OF INDUSTRY, MR K.Y. YEUNG.
THE VISIT WAS THE FIRST STOP IN A PROGRAMME OF FAMILIARISATION VISITS WHICH WILL TAKE HIM TO SIX FACTORIES OVER A PERIOD OF SIX WEEKS,
PRECISION ENGINEERING, A SUBSIDIARY OF SEIKO INSTRUMENTS AND ELECTRONICS LIMITED, WAS SET UP IN 1968 AND WAS ONE OF THE FORERUNNERS IN THE MOVE BY JAPANESE BUSINESSES TO INVEST IN HONG KONG'S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.
TODAY, ALMOST TWO DECADES LATER, THE SIZE OF THE JAPANESE PRESENCE IN THE LOCAL MANUFACTURING SECTOR HAS GROWN CONSIDERABLY. JAPANESE INVESTMENT IS REPRESENTED BY 127 FACTORIES INCLUDING 67 JOINT VENTURES WITH AN AGGREGATE INVESTMENT VALUE OF ABOUT $2 964 MILLION.
JAPAN NOW RANKS SECOND ONLY TO THE UNITED STATES AS THE LARGEST SOURCE OF DIRECT OVERSEAS INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG'S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY WITH A 21 PER CENT SHARE IN THE OVERSEAS INVESTMENT STAKES.
AND THERE ARE SIGNS THAT JAPANESE INDUSTRIALISTS ARE PLANNING TO STEP UP THEIR EFFORTS TO INVEST IN HONG KONG'S MANUFACTURING SECTOR.
SO FAR THIS YEAR, FIVE EXISTING MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS WITH JAPANESE INTERESTS HAVE BEEN EXPANDED AND SIX NEW ONES ESTABLISHED WITH INVESTMENTS ADDING UP TO MORE THAN $550 MILLION. IN ADDITION, 10 FIRMS ARE PLANNING TO SET UP FACTORIES WITH AN ESTIMATED INVESTMENT OF MORE THAN $230 MILLION.
THE WATCHES AND CLOCKS INDUSTRY IS THE FIFTH LARGEST AMONG HONG KONG'S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. IN EXPORTS OF WATCHES, HONG KONG IS THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD IN TERMS OF QUANTITY AND THE THIRD LARGEST AFTER SWITZERLAND AND JAPAN - IN TERMS OF VALUE.
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/THE VALUE