XN000022-1982-10-07 — Page 3

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1982

HONG KONG IS RECEPTIVE TO GERMAN TECHNOLOGY

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THE DIRECTOR OF INDUSTRY, MR PETER TSAO, CALLED ON GERMAN INVESTORS TODAY (THURSDAY) TO CONSIDER HONG KONG AS THEIR OVERSEAS BASE FOR ESTABLISHING WHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARIES OR JOINT VENTURES.

HE WAS SPEAKING AT A SEMINAR ORGANISED BY THE STUTTGART CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY.

+AS GERMAN INDUSTRIES ARE MOVING INTO MORE AND MORE SOPHISTICATED AND TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED AREAS, YOU MAY WELL WISH TO CONSIDER CARRYING OUT SOME OF YOUR MANUFACTURING PROCESSES IN OFFSHORE BASES IN ORDER TO CUT DOWN COSTS,+ HE SAID.

MR TSAO TOLD HIS GERMAN AUDIENCE THAT HONG KONG HAS DEVELOPED AN INDUSTRIAL BASE READY AND ABLE TO ABSORB AND SUPPORT HIGH- TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES, AND HAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST COST- EFFECTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE WORKFORCES.

AMONG THE MOST PROMISING LINES, HE CITED ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS INDUSTRIES, RANGING FROM THE MANUFACTURING OF TELECOMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT AND MINI-COMPUTERS TO AUTOMATION AND ROBOT CONTROLS.

+WE ALSO HAVE A NEED FOR SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES, SUCH AS FERROUS AND NON-FERROUS FOUNDRIES, PRECISION MACHINERY MANUFACTURE AND METALWORK, AND THERE ARE GOOD PROSPECTS FOR FURNITURE AND BUILDING SUPPLIES, PHARMACEUTICALS AND SPECIALTY CHEMICALS, FOOD PROCESSING AND PACKAGING, HE SAID.

MR TSAO SAID HE WAS ASTONISHED BY THE RELATIVELY SMALL SCALE OF GERMAN INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG, VALUED AT ONLY DM 16 MILLION, OR LESS THAN ONE PER CENT OF THE TOTAL OVERSEAS INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG.

AND THE BULK OF THIS INVESTMENT IS CONCENTRATED IN THE TEXTILES AND GARMENT INDUSTRIES WITH LOW INVESTMENT PER EMPLOYEE.

DR VICTOR FUNG, A PROMINENT INDUSTRIALIST IN HONG KONG AND

A MEMBER OF THE INDUSTRY ADVISORY BOARD ALSO SPOKE AT THE SEMINAR.

HE SUGGESTED THAT GERMAN BUSINESSMEN CONSIDER HONG KONG AS

A MANUFACTURING SOURCE FOR COMPONENTS AND SUB-ASSEMBLIES.

HE ALSO MENTIONED THE VAST POTENTIAL OF HONG KONG AS A GATEWAY INTO CHINA.

ANOTHER HONG KONG SPEAKER AT THE STUTTGART SEMINAR WAS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE HONG KONG INDUSTRIAL ESTATES CORPORATION, MR VIC MILLER, WHO GAVE DETAILS ON HONG KONG'S INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE PROVISION OF INDUSTRIAL LAND FACILITIES.

MR TSAO, MR MILLER AND DR FUNG WILL LEAVE FOR COLOGUE TO SPEAK AT ANOTHER INDUSTRIAL PROMOTION SEMINAR TOMORROW (FRIDAY).