The region has been unable to match the success of the Yangtze and Pearl River deltas in attracting investment in low-technology, labour-intensive private industry.

ECONOMIST: The other China

It is also an industry that is labour-intensive and generates a lot of foreign currency.

ECONOMIST: Britain is not attracting as many tourists as it should

Mass modification is less labour-intensive and thus, for an industry with wafer-thin margins, more appealing.

ECONOMIST: Mortgage restructuring