The four-day event is expected to attract 16,000 visitors from around the world. Apart from the exhibition, there will be 12 fashion shows, seven fashion industry seminars and an industry survey findings presentation, which aims to alert manufacturers and buyers to the latest market intelligence and fashion trends.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Tung Chee Hwa, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said that over the past three decades, Hong Kong has gone a long way from a low-cost apparel supplier to become one of the world’s most dynamic textiles and clothing centers, providing one-stop services from design and sourcing to manufacturing and marketing.

The garment and fashion industry is among Hong Kong industries that have most successfully coped with the changes, he noted.

“Despite the evolution of Hong Kong into an increasingly service-oriented economy over the years, the garment and fashion industry has remained the largest manufacturing sector in Hong Kong, accounting for 24 percent of our manufacturing workforce,” he added.

He said Hong Kong is now the world’s second largest clothing exporter and clothing is Hong Kong’s largest export item.

In the first 11 months of the year 2000, he said, exports of clothing amounted to 71 billion HK dollars (US$9.1 billion), accounting for more than 42 percent of Hong Kong's domestic exports during the period.

(People’s Daily 01/17/2001)