Chairman’s Statement

---

 Ir Andrew Young HKATC Chairman 2021-23

The global economy has largely recovered from the 2008 financial tsunami, China in particular has enjoyed promising industrial development, recording GDP growth of 6.6% in 2018. However, the recent escalating trade conflicts between China and the US have adversely impacted the global industrial outlook. Hong Kong enterprises must now prepare for a potential prolonged tension between the two largest economies in the world. Despite the grim forecast, one often can find opportunities in midst of a crisis, and technological innovation may just be the answer.

The ever-changing market demands innovative development, enterprises must respond to this challenge properly by making appropriate business and operation adjustments. The need to develop IoT or Automation continues to grow as enterprises now recognise that intelligent production is the solution to labour shortage and increased production costs. Thus, we remain confident that the development outlook of local automation industry if bright.

Industry 4.0 has transformed consumer patterns, the demand for customised products is at an all-time high. Manufacturers must evolve their production models in order to fulfill these market needs. In view of this, it is our hope that the government would play an active role in assisting local enterprises to transition and to improve their skills and competitiveness. In particular we hope that the government would assist SMEs in developing automated production and smart manufacturing. It would also be immensely constructive if the government could offer more policy support for local enterprises to attract more talents into the industry and to provide them with adequate training.