ENG-1992 — Page 99

INDUSTRY AND TRADE

publications. Considered as a separate industry, the toys industry employed 15 617 persons in 1992, and earned $3,723 million in exports. The manufacture of plastic toys accounted for 77 per cent of employment in the toy industry and 70 per cent of its exports.

Other Industries

Other important light manufacturing industries include metal products, printing, food and beverages, jewellery, industrial machinery, household electrical appliances, and photographic and optical goods. The development of the metal products and industrial machinery industries has enabled Hong Kong to produce sophisticated parts and components and other semi-manufactures of high quality. This has benefited the manufac- turing sector in general, as the quality of finished products depends heavily on the capability of the linkage industries which service them.

Hong Kong's shipyards provide a competitive repair service and build a variety of vessels. Several large shipbuilding and repair yards on Tsing Yi Island provide services to the shipping industry and construct and service oil rigs. Hong Kong's 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.

Overseas Investment in Manufacturing

As at end-1991, there were 536 manufacturing companies in Hong Kong with overseas investment. The total value of direct overseas investment was $34,399 million, and the 536 companies concerned employed 80 736 workers (12.8 per cent of total manufacturing em- ployment) and accounted for 25 per cent of Hong Kong's total domestic exports. The main sources of investment were Japan (32 per cent), the United States (28 per cent), China (11 per cent), and Australia (six per cent). More than three-fifths of this investment was con- centrated in five industries: electronics (32 per cent), electrical products (13 per cent), textile and clothing (nine per cent), tobacco (five per cent) and chemical products (five per cent).

Industry Department

One of the main tasks of the Industry Department is to carry out regular studies of Hong Kong's main manufacturing industries, to enable the government to identify constraints on their efficiency and assess where support is needed. In 1992, studies were conducted on the metals and light engineering industries, textiles and clothing industries and on the pace of industrial automation in Hong Kong. The department also conducts annual surveys to estimate the value of overseas investment in Hong Kong's manufacturing industries, and to assess the investment climate in the manufacturing sector.

The department provides information on available industrial support services to manufacturers through its Industrial Extension Service (IES), and encourages them to upgrade their operations by making use of these services. In 1991 a total of 293 visits were made by engineers of the IES, and 67 referrals were made to organisations which could help to solve the problems encountered by the companies concerned. In a number of other cases IES engineers dealt with the problems themselves.

Another major responsibility of the Industry Department is to monitor the availability of land and trained manpower for industry. Industrial land is normally sold by public

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