Canadian companies wishing to tap into markets in Hong Kong and China should come to Hong Kong, which is an attractive location for manufacturing which requires quick response or high precision.
Speaking at a business luncheon jointly hosted by the Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters Canada and the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association in Toronto in July, Mrs Regina Ip, Hong Kong's Director-General of Industry, advised Canadian manufacturers to take advantage of the territory's industry support programmes. She suggested those who want to manufacture in China to partner with Hong Kong, or to establish their regional office or support offices there.
Although manufacturing accounts for only nine percent of Hong Kong's GDP, Hong Kong remains the control centre of manufacturing operations from the Asia Pacific to Mauritius, to Mexico; and particularly China. The territory's manufacturing output rose from US$22 billion in 1980 to US$38 billion in 1994. "Hong Kong manufacturing companies, irrespective of whether they manufacture solely in Hong Kong or across different countries and regions, are stronger today than they ever have been," said Mrs Ip. She cited the following examples:
The Director-General noted that the Government provides a number of programmes to support Hong Kong-based companies or trade and industry support organizations, irrespective of whether they are locally or foreign-owned. These programmes include:
"So any Canadian companies or chamber of commerce established in Hong Kong can avail themselves of these programmes," she said. "More importantly, by establishing in Hong Kong, Canadian companies will be well placed to sell not only to Hong Kong's thriving population of over 6 million, but also the dynamically growing Asia Pacific region, particularly the vast market of China," she said.
· Electronics and telecommunications equipment. There is tremendous demand in Hong Kong and in the Asia Pacific region for integrated circuits, workstations, CD-ROM drive, PCMCIA card, fax machines and cellular phones, arising from the rapidly growing markets for PCs, consumer electronic products, office, telecommunications and communications equipment.
· Lenses for optical equipment. Hong Kong is a leading centre for the manufacture of optical products, including photographic goods and spectacle frames. As very few optical equipment or spectacle frame makers are involved in lens manufacture, Canadian companies which have technologies to offer in this area stand to benefit from the robust demand for lenses.
· Automotive parts and components. China's automotive industry, which is the fastest growing in the world, creates unique opportunities for automotive components manufacturing. As one of China's centres for automobile manufacturing is in the Guangdong province neighbouring Hong Kong, a `Hong Kong Automotive Industry Group' is looking for automotive components manufacturers to jointly explore business opportunities in China.
Hong Kong is an attractive location for high-technology manufacturing in the Asia Pacific region, offering a competitive package of support services to industry as well as excellent infrastructure for technology-based production.
Two key players in the semiconductor industry in Hong Kong, Motorola and Mosel Vitelic TMOS Foundry, signed a Co-operation Agreement recently. Under the six-year pact, Motorola will bring "front-end" wafer processing technology to Hong Kong and will for the first time fabricate silicon wafers in the territory. Production will begin in July next year. Wafers will be packaged in Motorola factories.