Hong Kong textile manufacturers shift production to Myanmar for cheap labour
Workers at industrial park in Yangon will be paid around 20pc of those on mainland
Hong Kong textile manufacturers have signed a deal to set up their first industrial park in Yangon, which they expect will slash production costs by at least half.
Workers at the 200-hectare facility in the former capital of Myanmar will be paid about a fifth of those employed in mainland factories.
Liberal Party lawmaker Felix Chung Kwok-pan, representing the textiles and garment constituency, made the deal on behalf of 12 manufacturers to rent half of the 400-hectare Thilawa Special Economic Zone, co-built by Myanmar and Japan.
"We will start the construction work in mid-2015 and hope the factories can start operating by the end of next year," Chung told the South China Morning Post.
The manufacturers will retain their production plants on the mainland to keep things "flexible", he added.
The land is rented for US$52 million annually for 50 years.
Chung said the Hong Kong manufacturers planned to employ at least 30,000 Myanmese workers at the market salary of US$100 to US$120 a month.