TNAG-0939-FCO40-1158-Visit-of-John-Nott--Secretary-of-State-for-Trade--to-Hong-Ko-1981 — Page 12

CODE 18-77

$3 8/78

Reference

MEETING WITH SELECTED HONG KONG GARMENT MANUFACTURERS: 1 SEPTEMBER 1980

Present: Mr Parkinson

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Mr Regan

Mr Audsley

Mr Nightingale

Mr Harrison

Mr Wilson

Mr Gibson

Mr March

Mrs Gingell

Mr Bailey

Mr Dorward

Mr Samuel Chan

Mr Christopher Cheng

Mr Stephen Cheong

Mr S T King

Mr Ernst Kwan

Mr Frank H Lin OBE

Mr Tam Kwok Chi

Mr Jack C Tang OBE

Mrs Ursula Tong Miss Eleanor Wong Mr Lundee Chow Mr James Tien

President, Carrington Viyella Ltd (CV)

Chairman, Tootal Ltd

Director, Courtaulds Ltd

Chairman, Johnstons of Elgin Ltd

Senior Director, Allied Textiles Ltd General President, National Union of

Hosiery and Knitwear Workers

Senior British Trade

CRE4

Press Officer

Commissioner

Director of Trade Industry and Customs Deputy Managing Director

Yangtzekiang Garment Mfg Co Ltd Acting President, Federation of Hong

Kong Garment Manufacturers

Hon Chairman, Hong Kong Woollen and

Synthetic Knitting Mfrs Assn

Chairman, Hong Kong Garment Mfrs Assn Director, Wilson Clothing and Rainwear

Mfg Co Ltd

Chairman, Hong Kong Knitwear Exporters

and Mfrs Assn

Vice President, Federation of Hong Kong

Garment Mfrs

Chairman and Managing Director, South Sea

Textiles Mfg Co Ltd

Director, Easey Garment Fty Ltd

Managing Director, Hong Kong Knitters Ltd Manager, Eternal Garment

Deputy Managing Director, Manhattan Garments

Mr Dorward opened the meeting by explaining that the HK Government had played only a minor role in the organisation of Mr Parkinson's mission, since trade promotion was the responsibility of the HKTDC. Nonetheless, he had been pleased to arrange the present meeting with a high-level and representative cross-section of the HK garment industry. Mr Parkinson explained that the purpose of the mission was to investigate how British exports of cloth to HK could be increased. The industrialists on the mission, he added, were representing not only their own companies but also the other British companies in their sectors of the industry. Mr King said he was certain that the mission could be beneficial both to HK and the UK. HK was the world's largest net importer of textiles: 1979 64% of HK's cotton and yarn requirements had been imported, and the figures in other sectors were even higher (98% for man-made fibre, 99% for woollen fabric and 95% for woollen yarns). Except in the field of woollen fabrics, however, only an insignificent proportion of these imports came from the UK, although there was in HK no lack of interest in buying British cloth.

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Mr Lin, representing the knitwear sector, commented that the HK knitwear industry exported some £200m worth of garments per annum, some 29% of which were woollen. The UK was one of the biggest producers of high-quality woollen yarn in the world; but of 13m tonnes of yarn imported into HK every year virtually none came from the UK (the principal suppliers being South Korea 13%, Taiwan 13% and

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