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INDUSTRY AND TRADE

The aircraft engineering industry has a high international reputation and provides extensive maintenance and repair services. Facilities are available for the complete overhaul of airframes and engines for many types of aircraft.

Industry Development Board

The Industry Development Board, which is chaired by the Financial Secretary, is the government's advisory body on all major industry-related matters. Members of the board comprise prominent industrialists, government officials and representatives from the tertiary education sector and other trade and industry organisations.

Support for Industry

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The government aims to ensure, as far as possible, that the infrastructure – which in its broadest sense covers, for example, the physical, financial and legal infrastructure of Hong Kong - enables business activities, including manufacturing, to flourish. The government also seeks to encourage industry to increase its competitiveness and supports its efforts in this direction by providing services which help promote productivity, quality, product innovation and industrial investment.

Industry Department

The Industry Department is responsible for the implementation of the government's industrial policies. It carries out techno-economic studies and market research studies on the major industries, as well as smaller-scale surveys of other industries, to enable the government to chart the course for providing the necessary support for industry. It promotes the wider application of quality assurance by maintaining measurement and documented standards as authoritative points of reference for industry, calibration services and a laboratory accreditation scheme. The department also promotes overseas investment in manufacturing, principally to encourage overseas manufacturers to introduce new and improved products, designs and processes and management techniques into Hong Kong.

During the year, a scheme to train engineers in the design of applications-specific integrated circuits was introduced and plans for a plastics technology centre, to provide technological assistance to the plastics conversion industry, were formulated.

In September, the department launched a six-month Industrial Extension Service pilot scheme, involving visits by its staff to over 300 small and medium-sized factories in the manufacturing sector, to promote greater use of the industrial support services provided directly or indirectly by the government. During these visits, possible operational and other improvements were discussed with the factory management and referrals were made to the particular organisations able to assist.

Additional land and accommodation was made available for industry. The government put up

for sale by auction or tender 13 pieces of industrial land with a total area of 56 493.1 square metres. Developers completed 540 600 square metres of flatted factory space. Of the stock of flatted factory space available in the market, 804 300 square metres or 76 per cent was taken up.

Calibration services for electronic, electrical, temperature, mass and length measure- ments were provided by the Standards and Calibration Laboratory, which has been accredited by the United Kingdom's National Measurement and Accreditation Service.

Demand for information and technical advice on overseas product standards continued to grow and was met by the Product Standards Bureau.