Christmas rush pushes HK exports up by 9pc
Hong Kong exports in November grew at their second-fastest rate in five months, the government said yesterday, with companies shipping more goods in time for the Christmas shopping season.
Shipments grew by 9 per cent to $153.8 billion last month, slightly slower than the 9.4 per cent expansion in October, the government said. At the same time, imports rose 13.8 per cent to $161.8 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $8 billion.
It was the 18th consecutive month of growth for exports and the second-highest level since June, when exports grew by 14 per cent. Hong Kong exports rose 11.3 per cent year on year from January to November.
'Every year, November is normally higher than other months because exporters are scrambling to get shipments out in time for Christmas,' said Hung Wan Sing, associate professor of economics at Baptist University.
Willy Lin Suen-mo, chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers' Council, said the numbers might not continue to hold up in the coming months because of growing competition from ports in Shenzhen.
While that means less business for Hong Kong ports, trading companies would still benefit from growth in export demands, he said.
'I still see Hong Kong definitely continuing to grow, but not in the 9 per cent area,' Mr Lin said. 'I think it will be more in the low single digits - 4 to 5 per cent - mainly because we're past the Christmas season and a lot of exports go through Shenzhen now.'
The volume of goods shipped through Kwai Chung terminal fell for the sixth month in a row in November.
Shipments in November to East Asia were strong, with double digit percentage growth to the mainland, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand, the government said yesterday. Exports to Europe had shown 'appreciable growth', while shipments to the United States 'were still relatively weak'.
Re-exports - shipments passing through Hong Kong to a final destination - rose 10 per cent to $144 billion last month, while local exports fell 3 per cent to $9.8 billion.
Other factors may slow exports next year, including possible further US moves to protect trade. The mainland is also cutting export tax rebates by 3 percentage points.
