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Sandy Li

Hong Kong manufacturers in the Pearl River Delta may relocate some of their operations back to the city because of a central government ban on recruitment fairs and other large gatherings.

The ban, implemented in the wake of the Sars outbreak, is making it difficult for factories to find enough workers.

'We have to explore other  options in view of the indefinite postponement of all recruitment fairs,' said Hon Sing-kwong, a mainland-based plant manager for power tool maker Techtronic Industries.

'It is possible [that some production lines will be relocated] because industrial rent has fallen significantly in Hong Kong and many workers are available.'

Techtronic is seeking an additional 3,500 staff,  but the ban on recruitment fairs  is affecting the hiring process.

The situation is also complicated by the fact that many migrant workers have left Sars-affected areas such as Guangdong and Beijing  and returned to their villages.

Widespread media coverage of the outbreak could persuade many not to return for months.

Rainbow Metal Refiners, which will be seeking an extra 200 workers in the coming months, said it was considering hiring Hong Kong workers as part of a back-up contingency plan.

'We need to build up a team of stand-by workers in case some of our employees contract Sars,' company director Jimmy Kwok said.

Chan Kei-bui, chairman of Singapore-listed electronics firm Surface Mount Technology (Holdings), said the new rules would affect his company's operations.

But he doubted whether relocating the operation to Hong Kong would be viable. He noted that his company's 7,500 workers in Dongguan were paid an average monthly salary of only 600 yuan (HK$564).

Lower wage and land costs in the Pearl River Delta inspired the wholesale migration of Hong Kong's manufacturing industries across the border in the 1980s and 1990s.



Some factories may return to city