ENG-1989 — Page 101

INDUSTRY AND TRADE

Textiles

The textiles industry employed 73 857 persons, or nine per cent of total manufacturing employment, and exported $16,814 million worth of goods in 1989.

With some 414 000 spindles and 16 000 looms, the spinning and weaving sectors produce mainly cotton yarn and fabrics for local and overseas markets. Modern machinery, in- cluding open-end rotor spinning machines and shuttleless looms, is widely used. In 1989, output of yarns and fabrics of various fibres and blends totalled 229 million kilograms and 836 million square metres respectively. Most of this was used locally.

The knitting sector exported 83 million kilograms of knitted fabrics in 1989 - of which 21 per cent consisted of man-made fibres or blended cotton man-made fibres, and 74 per cent of cotton - compared with 66 million kilograms in 1988. A large quantity of knitted fabric of all fibres was also used by local clothing manufacturers. In recent years the knit- ting sector has invested heavily in modern machinery, including flat-bed and circular knit- ting machines, which is often used in conjunction with computer-aided design equipment.

The textiles-finishing sector provides valuable support to the spinning, weaving and knitting sectors. Finishing processes include bleaching, dyeing, yarn texturising, multi- colour rolling, rotary and screen printing, sanforising, stone-wash, acid-wash, permanent press, polymerising, shearing, napping, glazing and schreinering. Hong Kong's bleaching, dyeing, printing and finishing factories are able to meet about 70 per cent of the local clothing industry's requirements for textile fabrics.

Electronics

The electronics industry is the second largest export-earner. Domestic exports of electronics products were valued at $55,818 million in 1989, an increase of 0.46 per cent over 1988. The industry employed 99 455 persons, accounting for 12 per cent of total manufacturing employment.

Hong Kong's electronics industry is well known for its adaptability to changes in external demand, which enables it to move rapidly into the production of many fashion products invented elsewhere. The industry produces a wide range of high-quality products and components, including compact disc players, radios, cassette recorders, hi-fi systems, television sets, calculators, electronic watches and clocks, electronic toys and games, multi-function telephones and cellular telephones, modems, photocopying machines, micro-computers and computer peripherals, computer-aided design and testing equipment, switching power supplies, printed circuit boards, liquid crystal displays, quartz crystals, semi-conductor devices and facsimile machines.

Watches and Clocks

Hong Kong is the world's largest exporter of watches, and is also an important clock producer. Domestic exports of watches and clocks were valued at $17,075 million in 1989, compared with $17,346 million in 1988. The industry employed 30 091 persons and produced mainly electronic watches and clocks. As watches and clocks have become fashion items, local manufacturers are paying more attention to attractive designs and better quality models. Some larger manufacturers are investing in associated research and development.

Plastics

The plastics industry produces mainly toys and household products, which together accounted for 44 per cent of the industry's exports in 1989. Other items produced include

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