INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Pool Is Shrinking: The flow of managerial talent out of Hong Kong is taking its toll on companies operating in the British colony. One recent casualty is Beckman Instruments, which moved its Asian distribution center from Hong Kong back to its Fullerton headquarters. The medical equipment maker decided to relocate the center after the turnover rate among its local managers reached a high of 30% last year, and finding replacements became an expensive exercise.

Claude Mitaux, Beckman’s director for Pacific operations, said the decision was made when the company realized that the turnover is likely to accelerate leading up to 1997, when Britain hands the colony back to China.

“When we saw that this will continue to disrupt our operation, that the salaries of local managers were getting out of hand as companies began a bidding war for the shrinking pool of managers, and inflation was reaching double digits, we decided to cut costs and move back to California,” he said.

In the meantime, Beckman is negotiating to open a distribution center and a joint venture in central China, with initial investments set for $5 million.