INDUSTRY AND TRADE
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The Colony's knitting mills produce towels, tee-shirts, singlets, underwear and nightwear, swimsuits, gloves, socks and stockings in cotton, silk, wool and rayon, and other fabrics.
DIVERSIFICATION
The expanded textile industry now accounts for over 50% by value of the Colony's exports. Critics who call for diversification of Hong Kong's industrial economy overlook the fact that the textile industry is itself a considerable feat of diversification, achieved very largely during the last ten years. Nor is it the only field of new endeavour: among the products which have appeared or grown in importance in the last few years are yachts and pleasure craft, steel scrap from the ship-breaking industry, kerosene pressure stoves and lamps, steel furniture, safes and office equip- ment, domestic space heaters, refrigerators and air-conditioners, carpets rubber thong sandals, plastic flowers, and injection mould- ing and extrusion machines for the plastics industry.
New ventures during 1960 include precision engineering, the manufacture of stainless steel cutlery, the emergence into com- mercial production of several factories making or assembling transistor_radios, and the construction of a plant which will soon be manufacturing plywood.
Several large overseas concerns have arrangements with Hong Kong manufacturers to make their branded products under licence. The latest example is the Westinghouse Electric International Company of New York which signed an agreement in October for the production in the Colony of Westinghouse room-type air- conditioners, 'packaged' air-conditioning units and electric fans. The year has been notable for the number of inquiries from indus- trialists overseas, particularly in the United States, Australia and Japan, who are interested in establishing factories here, frequently in co-operation with local capital.
TRADE
The value of the Colony's merchandise trade, imports, exports, and re-exports in 1960 was $9,800 million; an increase of 18% over 1959. Imports, exports and re-exports all rose in value,
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