ENG-1994 — Page 89

THE ECONOMY

The shares of transportation services in total exports and total imports of services were 37 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively, in 1993. Travel services accounted for 28 per cent of the total value of exports of services and 43 per cent of the total value of imports of services. Other trade-related services, such as offshore trading and purchasing/merchandis- ing services, contributed 19 per cent of the total value of exports of services and 11 per cent of the total value of imports of services. The corresponding shares for financial and banking services in total exports and total imports of services were six per cent and four per cent, respectively.

Analysed by sectors, the contribution to the GDP of the wholesale, retail and import/ export trades, restaurants and hotels was the largest, rising from 21 per cent in 1980 to 23 per cent in 1985, and further, to 27 per cent in 1993. The second largest contributor was the finance, insurance, real estate and business services group, contributing 26 per cent to the GDP in 1993. The corresponding share in 1980 was 23 per cent, but it fell to 16 per cent in 1985, affected by the slump in the property market in the early 1980s. The share of community, social and personal services in the GDP reached 15 per cent in 1993. It rose from 12 per cent in 1980 to around 17 per cent in 1985, before falling back to about 14 per cent during the period from 1987 to 1989. The share of transport, storage and communications in the GDP rose steadily from seven per cent in 1980 to eight per cent in 1985, and further, to 10 per cent in 1993.

Between 1984 and 1993, the net output or value added of the finance, insurance, real estate and business services sector showed the fastest increase, at an average annual rate of 20 per cent in value terms. This was followed by the wholesale, retail and import/export trades, and restaurants and hotels; and transport, storage and communications. Their respective average annual rates of increase were 18 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively. The combined value added by the services sector as a whole rose strongly, at an average of 18 per cent per annum over the same period.

The wholesale, retail and import/export trades, and restaurants and hotels field was the largest employer, accounting for 29 per cent of the total employment in the first three quarters of 1994. This was followed by community, social and personal services (19 per cent); transport, storage and communications (12 per cent); and finance, insurance, real estate and business services (11 per cent). The services sector as a whole thus accounted for 71 per cent of the total employment. The respective shares of these sectors in employment in 1981 were about 19 per cent, about 16 per cent, about eight per cent and about five per cent, respectively, giving a total of 47 per cent.

The Manufacturing Sector

Manufacturing firms in Hong Kong are well known for their versatility. The existence of a large number of small establishments, providing an extensive local sub-contracting system, has greatly facilitated production in coping with the frequent changes in the requirements of overseas markets. Moreover, the growing use of the outward processing facilities in China has greatly increased the flexibility of production in terms of capacity. A major proportion of Hong Kong's manufacturing output is eventually exported. Given the space constraints within Hong Kong, manufacturing industries in the territory usually operate in multi-storey factory buildings, resulting in the concentration of the production of light manufactured products.

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