| Take-off Stage
This stage set in the early
1960's and lasted for about 10 years. Starting
in the 1960s, the Chinese Government had adopted a
consistent policy toward Hong Kong. As the political
situation of certain Southeast Asian countries was
unstable and military conflicts were frequent, investors
all over the world moved their business centres to
Hong Kong, which marked the beginning of another stage
- the take-off stage of Hong Kong's manufacturing
industry.
Hong Kong Government provided
necessary assistance to the development of industries,
such as the formulation of legal framework, and the
lending of support to various semi-officaial industrial
and commercial institutions and technology centres
established by Hong Kong's key enterprises.
Foreign investment in Hong Kong's
manufacturing industries had increased substantially.
According to statistics, there were only 328 foreign
companies registered in Hong Kong 1955; by 1970, the
figure had risen to 655, representing an increase
of 100%.
At this stage, the electronics,
plastics and toy industries were also flourishing.
During the early 1960's, the number of plastics and
toy factories increased by more than 600% and employment
size also registered a 400% increase. The progress
of the electronics industry was even more encouraging,
with both the number of establishments and employment
size increaseing by approximately 100 times.
In 1970, Hong Kong's total gross
domestic product reached HK$19,214 million, which
represented an increase of HK$13,319 million or 200%
over the year 1960. The per capita gross domestic
product rose from $1,917 in 1960 to $4,853 in 1970,
representing an increase of $2,936. Import and
export trade also increased significantly by HK$23,045
million, from HK$9,801 million in 1960 to HK$32,846
million in 1970. Since then, Hong Kong has been
one of the most successful economies in the world.
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Plastic flowers
are an important export. Hong Kong dolls became
justly famous over the world.
The hair,
golden and life-like, was sewn on to the skull by
specially designed machinery and each head then received
an individual grooming.
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