19
TODAY, DE
FR 22.
HE SAID OTHER THAN MAJOR
SUCH AS SIEMENS AND KONG, OVERSEAS
GERMAN NAMES BAYER WHICH HAD AN IMPORTANT PRESENCE IN HONG INVESTMENTS "STILL MAKE OUR NEWS ON A REGULAR BASIS".
—
"A RECENT EXAMPLE IS THIS : A HONG KONG COMPANY ACQUIRED CONTROL OF GIMELLI PRODUKTIONS
A SWISS MANUFACTURER OF DENTAL, HEALTH AND HAIR CARE PRODUCTS: THEY PLAN TO KEEP THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN SWITZERLAND, MAKE THEIR PRODUCTS IN HONG KONG AND WAREHOUSE IN SHENZHEN IN CHINA.
"THAT'S INTERNATIONAL DIVISION OF LABOUR!
"A DIRECTOR OF GIMELLI SAID THAT THE OPERATION WOULD CUT LABOUR COSTS BY 50 PER CENT THROUGH THIS ARRANGEMENT.
"HE ALSO SAID THAT THE OPTION TO MANUFACTURE THEIR PRODUCTS CHINA HAD BEEN REJECTED BECAUSE MARKET STUDIES HAD SHOWN
MADE CONSUMERS FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH A HYGIENE PRODUCT KONG," HE SAID.
IN
-
IN
THAT HONG
IT
WAS MR BARMA SAID THIS ACQUISITION
ALSO NOTABLE BECAUSE REPRESENTED ONE OF THE FEW CASES WHERE HONG KONG FIRMS HAD ACQUIRED ESTABLISHED EUROPEAN BRAND NAMES.
MR BARMA SAID HONG KONG HAD BEEN AND WOULD CONTINUE TO BE AN ATTRACTIVE PLACE FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT.
"AMONG THE SIGNIFICANT RECENT PROJECTS, I WOULD SINGLE OUT AND MOTOROLA WITH ITS MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR ASIA-PACIFIC HEADQUARTERS ITS DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING CENTRE FOR SEMI-CONDUCTORS AND HOECHST WITH A PLANT ON ONE OF HONG KONG'S INDUSTRIAL ESTATES TO PRODUCE TEXTILE ANCILLARIES.
JOINT
A
PLANT
"OTHERS INCLUDE BERTELSMANN WITH A RECENTLY CONCLUDED
WITH VENTURE TO PRODUCE COMPACT DISCS AND ENICHEM OF ITALY UNDER CONSTRUCTION TO PRODUCE POLYSTYRENE," HE SAID,
MR BARMA SAID GERMANY HAD ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF HONG VALUED TRADING PARTNERS.
"YOU ARE OUR THIRD LARGEST MARKET FOR EXPORTS. ALMOST AS MUCH FROM YOU IN MONEY TERMS, HE SAID.
KONG'S MOST
AND WR BUY
HE SAID GERMANY WAS ALSO A SIGNIFICANT INVESTOR WITH AROUND US$100 MILLION INVESTED BY GERMAN MANUFACTURERS IN HONG KONG.
FIRMS
"THERE ARE OVER 400 GERMAN TERRITORY, SECOND ONLY IN NUMBER TO JAPAN,
HAVING A PRESENCE IN THE
HE SAID.
/20
Page 20Page 21