ENG-1986 — Page 93

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INDUSTRY AND TRADE

in quality, in the form of industrial support services. These services are generally provided following industry-by-industry identification of the demand and supply side determinants of and constraints upon the growth of various industries, and funded by the government on the advice of the Industry Development Board. The Industry Department is also re- sponsible for investment promotion and for monitoring the availability or otherwise of services and facilities on which Hong Kong's manufacturing industries depend, including the supply of trained manpower, industrial land, financial services, freight and cargo handling services, and sources of energy supply.

Industrial Support Facilities and Technical Back-up Services

In respect of industrial support services, in April the government began funding a three-year plan to enhance the capability of the Hong Kong Productivity Council in providing a range of advisory bureau and consultancy services associated with industrial automation and precision tooling. These services are designed to promote productivity growth. In seeking to promote the wider application of quality assurance, the Industry Department generally seeks to provide manufacturing with competent points of reference. Accordingly, to meet the demand for industrial design services, the Hong Kong Design Innovation Company Limited - a company set up with the help of public funds - opened for business in March to provide manufacturers with consultancy services. The department's Standards and Calibration Laboratory which maintains high echelon reference standards traceable to international standards institutions and provides calibration services in respect of elec- tronic and electrical measurements, was accredited by the United Kingdom's National Measurement and Accreditation Service in July. The department's Products Standards Bureau continued to meet growing demand for information and technical advice on overseas product standards. The Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme, which seeks to introduce quality assurance in Hong Kong's testing laboratories, assessed eight laboratories for accreditation during the year.

Two of these laboratories were successful in achieving accreditation and the scheme is being expanded to cover the testing of concrete reinforcing steel.

While industrial support services have the effect of transferring and diffusing technology to manufacturers through advisory bureau and consultancy services, the principal aim of the Industry Department's industrial investment promotion programme is to encourage overseas manufacturers to introduce to Hong Kong, through their investments, new and improved products, new and improved designs and processes and improved management techniques. These investments serve not only to enrich Hong Kong's manufacturing capabilities but also to stimulate local manufacturers to upgrading their own operations. The programme is implemented by a network of five overseas offices located in New York, San Francisco, London, Stuttgart and Tokyo, and supported by a 'One Stop Unit' in Hong Kong. During 1986, under this programme, 24 projects involving more than $515 million worth of investment were brought to fruition with the Industry Department's assistance. In terms of the quality of this inward investment, 1986 witnessed a healthy inflow of technology, notably from the United States and Japan. For example, during the first half of the year, the expansion of Mita, a large manufacturer of photocopiers in Japan, resulted in a number of its contractors concurrently investing in Hong Kong in the production of photo-conductive drums, heavy metal parts and precision metals and plastic components, all of which are new to Hong Kong and which provide an important expansion of Hong Kong's linkage industries. The Industry Department's 'One Stop Unit' has been active in helping these investors to look for suitable labour and industrial accommodation.