Lau says they are not picked winners by government since they do not need land grant like the medical and education sectors.

Testing and certification is high-potential growth area of the local economy, says Joseph Lau Man-wai, a member of the newly established Hong Kong Council for Testing and Certification.

With support from the government, he hopes the sector will expand further to bring about greater business opportunities, economic benefits and create jobs in Hong Kong.

Lau, who is also vice-president of Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong and a registered pharmacist by profession, speaks highly of the founding of the council, which is charged with the task of mapping out a development blueprint for the sector.

Apart from government officials, other council members include representatives from the testing industry, the business sector, professional institutes and public bodies.

"I welcome the government's swift action to set up a new council to take the industry forward as this reflects the government's new mindset," he told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

"It is also a good idea to allow us, as industry representatives, to discuss and come up with a development plan among ourselves for the government's consideration because the plan will surely have very a high degree of viability."

Testing and certification services have existed in Hong Kong for many years. In the past, the focus was upon testing and certification of product specifications, he noted.

But in recent years, the focus has shifted to food and Chinese medicine items as a result of social development, higher standards of living and greater awareness of good health among the people.

"Our business has been quite good," he said. "And as the scope of products that requires testing and certification has greatly increased, the business turnover has increased accordingly. Moreover, some foreign countries have tightened the standards of imported products; this prompts a greater need for testing and certification of products and more business opportunities."

For example, the US has tightened laws regarding specifications and components of toys imported from other countries, while the European Union has also stipulated more stringent requirements on environmental products.

"The testing and certification industry is one that builds upon its brand name and confidence it gives to the customers," said Lau. "The testing and certification industry in Hong Kong enjoys a very good reputation as our test reports of products have great trust at the international level."

He realizes that for a company that invests in testing and certification services, it involves tens of million dollars because a large quantity of very expensive equipment will be required.

"I am confident we can attract new investors if the business environment is favorable and opportunities abound," he said.

Although the Task Force on Economic Challenges named testing and certification as one of the six economic areas where Hong Kong has a competitive edge, Lau does not think the government is picking winners.

"What we ask from the government is no more than policy implementation and ancillary legislation. We do not require financial assistance from the government to buy equipment," he stressed.

"And as laboratories do not occupy large areas, we will not ask for land grants from the government, like what the education and medical service sectors do to build universities and hospitals."

He takes cosmetics for example. At present, it is not required by law to go through testing and certification procedures.

If the government makes laws to stipulate testing and certification of cosmetics products, Lau is sure that will provide added business opportunities to the sector.

At the same time, testing and certification standards, as well as levels of chemical substances, such as mercury, in the products, shall also be stipulated in the law.

For food items, vegetables are subject to only random inspection for the time being, he added. If society feels there is need to enhance inspection of vegetables, there shall be a law that spells out the required number of test samples and standards of testing and certification.

In view of the expanded service scope, greater manpower at upper, middle and lower streams will be needed, which will create a lot more employment opportunities in Hong Kong.

With regard to manpower training, Lau said candidates with such backgrounds as physics, chemistry and engineering will be useful.

As representatives from the Hong Kong Productivity Centre, Vocational Training Council and Trade Development Council are sitting on the Hong Kong Council for Testing and Certification, he said the subject of training courses would be discussed at the coming meetings.

Lau further noted that since the mainland does not recognize test reports submitted by offshore certification bodies, including laboratories in Hong Kong, he hoped the SAR government would discuss with the mainland authorities the possibility of a single test report mutually acceptable in both places.

"If we have a test report accepted in two places, we need only submit the Hong Kong laboratory test reports to the mainland authorities. We do not need to send the products for inspection twice and pay the inspection fees twice.

"We hope the government will facilitate discussion on testing and certification standards with the mainland authorities under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement," he said.

In exploring further business opportunities, Lau does not rule out possibility of cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland laboratories in the future, with each laboratory being responsible for inspection of certain parts of a product.

"Take electronic products for instance, testing and certification of the bulk parts or mechanical parts of the product are carried out on the mainland, while that of smaller parts that require precision equipment are done in Hong Kong and the tests reports are issued under the name of Hong Kong laboratories because our standard is compatible with the international level," he pointed out.

Alternatively, mainland manufacturers may send their products to Hong Kong for laboratory tests before they are sold to buyers in the US, because the "Certified in Hong Kong" labels are a symbol for quality and confidence.

"Our laboratories maintain very high testing and certification standards," he beamed, adding, "By cooperating with the mainland laboratories, we can not only have access to far bigger business opportunities, but also help raise the standard of testing and certification services on the mainland."

(HK Edition 10/23/2009 page4)