ENG-1985 — Page 82

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INDUSTRY AND TRADE

Hong Kong. The United States remains the largest source of overseas industrial investment in Hong Kong, accounting for some 53 per cent of the total. Japan is second with 21 per cent and Britain third with about seven per cent. The principal industries involved are electronics, textiles and clothing, electrical products, non-metallic mineral products and food and beverages.

The Hong Kong/Japan Business Co-operation Committee continued to work closely with its counterpart in Japan. It provided considerable assistance and support to the Industry Department's industrial promotion work in Japan.

Textiles and Clothing

The textiles and clothing industries are Hong Kong's largest. Together they employ about 42 per cent of the total industrial employment and produce some 41 per cent by value of total domestic exports. Total domestic exports of textiles and clothing in 1985 were valued at $52,735 million, compared with $55,345 million in 1984.

The output of cotton yarn in 1985 was 142 million kilograms, compared with 136 million kilograms in 1984. Production of man-made fibre yarn and cotton man-made fibre blended yarn was 16 million kilograms, compared with 20 million kilograms in 1984, and production of woollen and worsted yarn was four million kilograms, compared with four million kilograms the previous year. Most of the yarn produced was used locally.

The weaving sector, with 20 114 looms, produced 662 million square metres of woven fabrics of various fibres and blends, compared with 718 million square metres in 1984. The bulk of the production - 94 per cent was of cotton. Much of the fabric produced was exported in the piece, but local clothing manufacturers used the major proportion of locally woven and finished fabrics.

The knitting sector exported 22 million kilograms of knitted fabrics in 1985 of which 24 per cent was of man-made fibres or blended cotton man-made fibres, and 75 per cent was of cotton - compared with 23 million kilograms in 1984. In addition, a large quantity of knitted fabric of all fibres was used by local clothing manufacturers.

The finishing sector of the industry provides sophisticated support facilities to the spinning, weaving and knitting sectors. It handles a large amount of textile fabrics for bleaching, dyeing, printing and finishing. The processes include yarn texturising, multi- colour roller and screen printing, transfer printing, pre-shrinking, permanent pressing and polymerising.

The clothing sector is the largest single sector within the manufacturing industry, employing some 292 163 workers or about 34 per cent of the total industrial employment. Domestic exports of clothing in 1985 were valued at $44,912 million, compared with $46,714 million in 1984. In response to changes in the United States' country of origin rules, many knitwear manufacturers made heavy investment in modern computerised and automatic machinery in 1985.

Other Light Industries

The electronics industry is the second largest export-earner among Hong Kong's manufac- turing industries. Domestic exports of electronics products in 1985 were valued at $27,014 million, compared with $31,213 million in 1984. (These figures correspond to electronic products as delineated in a review in 1985 by relevant government departments and trade organisations on the classification of electronic products. Although such delineation cannot be exact due to the continuous proliferation of electronics technology, it nevertheless helps in monitoring the development of the electronics industry). The industry comprises