XN000022-1984-12-11 — Page 14

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1984

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U.S. IS BIGGEST FOREIGN INVESTOR

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THERE WERE 472 MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS EITHER WHOLLY OR PARTLY OWNED BY OVERSEAS INTERESTS IN SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR, A SURVEY HAS SHOWN.

OF THESE COMPANIES, 442 PROVIDED FULL DETAILS TO QUESTIONS REFERRING TO THE IR INVESTMENT AND OPERATIONS IN HONG KONG. THESE RETURNS SHOWED A TOTAL INVESTMENT FIGURE OF $11 448 MILLION, A 63 PER CENT INCREASE COMPARED WITH THE FIGURE IN AUGUST 1981.

RESULTS OF THE SURVEY OF OVERSEAS INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT CONDUCTED FROM JULY TO SEPTEMBER 1984 WERE RELEASED TODAY BY THE DIRECTOR OF INDUSTRY, MR JOHN YAXLEY.

+THE LAST SIMILAR SURVEY WAS CARRIED OUT THREE YEARS AGO, AND THE PRINCIPAL OBJECT THIS TIME WAS TO UPDATE THE DEPARTMENT'S INFORMATION ABOUT FACTORIES WITH OVERSEAS INTERESTS, SO THAT WE COULD HAVE A CLEARER PICTURE OF OVERSEAS PARTICIPATION IN OUR MANUFACTURING SECTOR, AND OF THE VIEWS OF OVERSEAS MANUFACTURERS ON CERTAIN ASPECTS OF OPERATING IN HONG KONG, SAID MR YAXLEY.

+FOR EXAMPLE, WE ASKED THEM - WHAT THEY LIKE ABOUT THE PLACE, AND ALSO WHAT THEY SEE AS THE DRAWBACKS, HE SAID.

THE UNITED STATES, JAPAN AND THE UNITED KINGDOM CONTINUE TO LEAD AS THE MAJOR SOURCES OF OVERSEAS INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT, ACCOUNTING FOR 53.7 PER CENT, 21.1 PER CENT AND 6.9 PER CENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENT RESPECTIVELY. THEY ARE FOLLOWED BY THE NETHERLANDS (2.8 PER CENT), THE PHILIPPINES (2.6 PER CENT) AND SWITZERLAND (2.5 PER CENT).

OVERSEAS INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT IS CONCENTRATED IN THE ELECTRONICS, TEXTILES AND GARMENTS AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS SECTORS, WHICH ACCOUNT FOR 35.5 PER CENT, 9.8 PER CENT AND 8.0 PER CENT OF TOTAL OVERSEAS INVESTMENT RESPECTIVELY. OTHER SIGNIFICANT SECTORS INCLUDE NON-METALLIC MINERAL PRODUCTS SUCH AS BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND FIBRE GLASS PRODUCTS (7.6 PER CENT), FOOD AND BEVERAGE (7.2 PER CENT) AND CHEMICAL PRODUCTS (7.0 PER CENT).

MR YAXLEY SAID: +WHILE THE NUMBER OF FACTORIES WITH OVERSEAS INVESTMENT MAY BE RELATIVELY SMALL, BETWEEN ONE PER CENT AND ONE-AND-A-HALF PER CENT OF ALL FACTORIES HERE, THEY EMPLOY 89 033 WORKERS, OR ABOUT 10 PER CENT OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORKFORCE, AND THE IR TOTAL SALES WERE OVER $27 000 MILLION IN 1983, OF WHICH 68 PER CENT WERE FOR DIRECT EXPORT - EQUIVALENT TO 17.8 PER CENT OF HONG KONG'S TOTAL DOMESTIC EXPORTS.

IN ADDITION