XN000022-1988-05-30 — Page 17

16

MONDAY, MAY 30, 1988

DOUBLE-DIGIT RESULTED

SHE SAID THAT THE STRONG EXTERNAL DEMAND AND THE GROWTH OF THE HONG KONG ECONOMY OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS HAD IN A MORE ROBUST AND PRODUCTIVE MANUFACTURING SECTOR OVERALL.

OF "THIS IS REFLECTED IN A 34 PER CENT INCREASE IN THE VOLUME

ITS LOCAL MANUFACTURING OUTPUT WITH ONLY A TWO PER CENT INCREASE IN WORKFORCE," MRS CHAN SAID.

SUBJECT ΤΟ

HOWEVER, SHE WARNED THAT INTERNATIONAL TRADE WAS FLUCTUATIONS AND HONG KONG, BEING A RELATIVELY SMALL OPEN ECONOMY, WAS ALWAYS EXPOSED TO EXTERNAL FORCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL, NOT PROTECTIONISM AND GLOBAL EXCHANGE RATE MOVEMENTS.

THE LEAST

RATE OF TWO

"IT

IS THEREFORE UNREALISTIC TO ASSUME THAT THE HIGH GROWTH THAT WE HAVE ENJOYED IN OUR DOMESTIC EXPORTS OVER THE PAST YEARS CAN BE MAINTAINED YEAR AFTER YEAR.

"UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE BEST STRATEGY IMPROVE ITS FOR OUR MANUFACTURING SECTOR IS TO CONTINUE TO SEEK TO

AND AGAINST EXPORT CAPABILITY IN RESPONSE TO CHANGING MARKET NEEDS,

SHE SAID. INCREASING COMPETITION FROM OTHER EXPORTING ECONOMIES,

++

PURSUING THEY WERE WELL TO BE CONSCIOUSLY

MRS CHAN NOTED THAT HONG KONG MANUFACTURERS HAD BEEN THIS STRATEGY FOR SOME TIME AND SHE FELT SURE THAT AWARE THAT EFFORTS IN THIS DIRECTION WOULD HAVE SUSTAINED, AND FURTHER STRENGTHENED.

QUALITY OF THE INFRASTRUCTURAL FRAMEWORK

"IMPORTANT AREAS OF ATTENTION INCLUDE PRODUCTIVITY AND UPGRADING, IMPROVEMENT IN THE SKILLS AND TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE WORKERS, AND THE UPKEEP OF AN EFFICIENT WHICH WILL ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANUFACTURING ACTIVITIES.

THE PAST ECONOMIC TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVED BY A THEIR LOW

"THESE HAVE BEEN THE INGREDIENTS FOR OUR SUCCESS IN AND INCREASINGLY WILL BE THE DETERMINANTS OF OUR FUTURE GROWTH, PARTICULARLY AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF RAPID DEVELOPMENTS IN ADVANCED COUNTRIES AND THE SUCCESS NUMBER OF ECONOMIES IN THE ASIAN-PACIFIC REGION TO EXPAND COST LABOUR BASED PRODUCTIVITY CAPACITY.

"IN

OF

INVESTED HEAVILY ALL THESE AREAS TOO, THE GOVERNMENT HAS AND WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE TO COMPLEMENT THE EFFORTS THE PRIVATE SECTOR," SHE SAID.

SHE CITED AS AN EXAMPLE THE INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT'S COMMISSIONING RESEARCH STUDIES OF HONG OF A PROGRAMME OF TECHNO-ECONOMIC AND MARKET KONG'S PRINCIPAL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES SINCE 1983, THE FIRST OF THESE STUDIES WOULD BE COMPLETED IN 1988.

CYCLE

/ANOTHER OF