Northern Ireland's traditional industrial base will continue to undergo restructuring during the next three years, with textiles, clothing, and food processing sectors likely to become less dominant in terms of the numbers employed, according to IDB chairman Dr Alan Gillespie.

Dr Gillespie was speaking at the launch of the IDB's "Corporate Plan for 1998-2001", a period during which he said the agency's objective was to attract 18,000 new jobs from foreign direct investment (FDI), and assist the promotion of 5,000 new jobs by locally-owned companies.

He said that the fall-off in employment among some of Northern Ireland's traditional industries would be replaced by jobs in such areas as electronics, telecommunications, and tradable services. But he warned that a return to political instability would have adverse implications for the IDB's targets, and for the economic future of the region.

IDB chief executive Mr Bruce Robinson said that growth in manufacturing output and employment had exceeded Britain's and growth in manufacturing exports was also well ahead of Britain. "In the period 1998-2001," Mr Robinson said, "it is forecast that there will be a net rise in employment in IDB companies from 86,137 to around 90,000."

Mr Robinson said that in recent years there had been substantial growth in project funding by banks and financial institutions.