ENG-1990 — Page 111

INDUSTRY AND TRADE

meet the new environmental standards that are being proposed. Consideration is therefore being given to the feasibility of developing a special industrial estate for such purposes.

Additional land and accommodation was made available for industry. The government put up for sale by auction or tender 10 pieces of industrial land with a total area of 30 694 square metres, and about 600 000 square metres of flatted factory space were completed by private developers. The department also successfully steered the Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation's proposal for a third industrial estate through the various stages of approval by government. The construction contract for the new estate in Tseung Kwan O will be let early in 1991. In addition, to assist those industries requiring waterfront access, consultants have been appointed by the Project Manager, Tuen Mun, to study the feasi- bility of developing a site at Tuen Mun West. Preliminary findings of the study indicate that the proposed development could provide about 55 hectares of industrial sites.

There has been a significant growth of interest in recent years in investment by the large multinational chemical industries. A study on the development potential of the chemical processing industry in Hong Kong will be conducted to identify the necessary infra- structure to facilitate the industry's growth in Hong Kong. The study is expected to be completed in 1991.

Recently, the Industrial Technology Committee of the Industry Development Board endorsed a proposal that a Science Park would be a logical addition to the technology infrastructure in Hong Kong. Action is now being taken by the department to acquire the necessary funds to undertake a full feasibility study.

In April 1989, a permanent Industrial Extension Service was launched by the department to publicise the range of industrial support services available in Hong Kong in order to encourage manufacturers to make full use of them. Between April 4, 1989 and December 31, 1990, 658 factories were visited, resulting in 272 referrals being made to a variety of organisations and government departments.

In 1989, a major annual award scheme, The Governor's Award for Industry, was introduced to encourage originality, productivity and quality in Hong Kong's manu- facturing industries. In 1990, the Governor's Award was broadened to include new awards for productivity and quality, as well as the existing awards for product design and machinery and equipment design. Once again the response from manufacturers was excellent and the standard of entries very high. The leading organisers for the Governor's Award are the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Productivity Council and Industry Department.

Through Industrial Promotion Units of the Hong Kong economic and trade offices in New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, London and Brussels, and its own 'One-Stop' unit in Hong Kong, the Inward Investment Division of the department assisted overseas in- vestors in setting up manufacturing businesses in the territory. At the end of 1989, total overseas investment amounted to $29,734 million, compared with $26,172 million in the preceding year.

Many of these investments are from world leaders in their respective fields and have contributed significantly to upgrading the level of technology and expertise of the local manufacturing sector. All projects completed in 1990 were of a technology level comparable with or superior to that of the best Hong Kong companies. Notable examples included the manufacture of organic photo-conductive drums for photocopiers and the recycling of lubricating oil.

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