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Strengthening Pillar Industries
86.
We have been strengthening Hong
Kong's position as Asia's world city. We are promoting our role as an international financial centre and as a hub of business, logistics and tourism in the Asia-Pacific region. As a result of globalisation and the rapid economic growth in the region, Hong
Kong's economy has been restructuring and upgrading. Over the past 10 years, growth in our total labour productivity averaged 2.7 per cent per year. The average growth rate in the past four years reached 4.8 per cent, showing that we have achieved notable results in this respect.
87.
Hong Kong has become a sourcing, supply chain management, logistics and distribution centre in the region. The direct contribution of the trading and logistics sector to our economy increased from 21.9 per cent in 1997 to 27.4 per cent in 2006.
88.
Moreover, trade in services has become increasingly important to our economy. In 2007, Hong
Kong's export of services grew by more than 140 per cent in real terms compared with 10 years ago. The value of these exports now stands at $645 billion. This demonstrates Hong
Kong's strong competitive edge in the export of services including tourism, offshore trade, and financial, commercial and professional services. At the end of last year, overseas and Mainland companies had set up a total of 3 890 regional headquarters or offices in Hong Kong, an increase of 55 per cent over 10 years ago.
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