WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1986
36
PROMOTION OF PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH VITAL
*****
THE PROMOTION OF PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH
THROUGH APPROPRIATE
MANPOWER TRAINING, THROUGH THE FACILITATION OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN INWARD INVESTMENT PROMOTION, AND THROUGH THE PROVISION OF PRODUCTIVITY ENHANCING INDUSTRIAL SUPPORT SERVICES, IS AN IMPERATIVE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S INDUSTRIAL STRATEGIES, THE DIRECTOR OF INDUSTRY, MR K.Y. YEUNG, SAID TODAY (WEDNESDAY).
ADDRESSING A SYMPOSIUM ON INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION ORGANISED BY THE HONG KONG SECTION OF THE INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS, MR YEUNG SAID THE NEED FOR HONG KONG TO ACHIEVE A HIGHER LEVEL OF PRODUCTIVITY WAS UNDERLINED BY THE FACT THAT IT HAD TO COMPETE IN THE SAME FOREIGN MARKETS AS THE ASIAN NEWLY INDUSTRIALISED COUNTRIES.
+MOREOVER, AS THE MODERNISATION AND INDUSTRIALISATION OF SOUTH CHINA GATHERS PACE, THOSE INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES THAT ARE RELATIVELY LABOUR-INTENSIVE AND INEFFICIENT WILL COME UNDER INCREASING PRESSURE EITHER TO CEASE OPERATING OR TO SHIFT ACROSS THE BORDER.+
WHILE POINTING OUT THAT INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION WAS A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE MEANS OF ACHIEVING GROWTH IN PRODUCTIVITY, MR YEUNG SAID IT WAS GRATIFYING TO NOTE THAT HONG KONG'S MANUFACTURERS HAD IN RECENT MONTHS, INVESTED SUBSTANTIALLY IN PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY.
+IN THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF 1986, RETAINED IMPORTS OF INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY GREW BY 51.3 PER CENT IN MONEY TERMS, OR ABOUT 14 PER CENT IN REAL TERMS, OVER THE SAME PERIOD IN 1985, + HE SAID.
NONE THE LESS, INVESTMENT IN PRODUCTION PLANT AND EQUIPMENT ALONE WOULD NOT ENABLE THE MANUFACTURER TO REALISE THE FULL POTENTIAL FROM HIS INVESTMENT.
+GIVEN THAT MOST OF OUR INDUSTRIES ARE ENGAGED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CONSUMER GOODS AND THE PREVALENCE OF INCREASINGLY SHORT PRODUCTION RUNS. MANUFACTURERS ARE INCREASINGLY FINDING IT DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY, BECAUSE OF THE TIME REQUIRED TO COME UP WITH DIFFERENT DESIGNS AND TO MOUNT DIFFERENT PRODUCTION LINES,+ HE SAID.
+ THUS THE INTRODUCTION OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE BECOMES IMPORTANT, AND THE GOVERNMENT, ON THE ADVICE OF THE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT BOARD, HAS PROVIDED FUNDS FOR THE HONG KONG PRODUCTIVITY COUNCIL TO PRODUCE LOW-COST CAD/CAM SYSTEMS FOR GARMENT PATTERN GRADING AND MARKER MAKING AND FOR THE DESIGN OF PCB LAYOUTS.
+ THE GOVERNMENT HAS ALSO PROVIDED FUNDS FOR DEVELOPMENT WORK BY THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC AND THE TWO UNIVERSITIES.+
/MR YEUNG