bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

HONG KONG'S trade growth was steady, if unspectacular, in 1993, benefiting largely from the continued economic boom in China, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC) said.

  ''Growth in Hong Kong's total exports slowed to 15 per cent in the first nine months of 1993, from 21 per cent for the whole of last year,'' according to a TDC paper on the year in trade.

  ''The China market was again the engine for export growth this year, while exports to North America and Western Europe grew moderately.''   The Census and Statistics Department said Hong Kong's total exports were $951.9 billion between January and November, the most up-to-date period for which statistics are available. That reflects an increase of 13.5 per cent over the same period in the previous year.

  Re-exports (usually goods passing to or from China via Hong Kong) accounted for $749.5 billion - up 19.6 per cent from the previous 11-month period.

  Domestic exports were down 4.7 per cent at $202.4 billion, reflecting the continuing movement of manufacturing operations across the border to Guangdong Province.

  Domestic exports accounted for 21.3 per cent of the total exports in the period, down from 25.3 per cent in the same period of 1992.

  Meanwhile, imports were $970.5 billion, up 12.9 per cent compared with the previous period.

  The TDC estimates the growth in exports for the whole of 1993 was 14 per cent, with re-exports rising 20 per cent and domestic exports falling four per cent.

  It said exports to Asian countries were firm, growing at 19 per cent in the first nine months, due to the growth of the Newly Industrialised Economies.

  In particular, Hong Kong benefitted from China's economic juggernaut.

  ''As China's economy continued to surge ahead, the Gross Domestic Product rose 14 per cent year-on-year in the first half [of 1993], driven by rapid industrial production and both domestic and foreign investment,'' revealed the TDC report.

  ''Capitalising on the boom, Hong Kong exports to China rose 28 per cent.''   Hong Kong's exports to Japan rose by only 10 per cent, and were affected by the economic softness in Japan.

  The TDC said moderate growth was reported in exports to other Asian economies: total exports to Singapore increased by 19 per cent; to the Philippines by 18 per cent; to South Korea by 15 per cent; to Indonesia by 15 per cent; and to Malaysia by nine percent.

  The TDC said there was only moderate growth in exports to Western markets as economic recovery was delayed.

  ''Following the robust expansion in 1992, exports to the US rose only 13 per cent in the first nine months of 1993,'' according to the TDC paper.

  In the third quarter of the year, Hong Kong's total exports to the US, amounting to $71 billion, and imports from the US, amounting to $20 billion, each rose by 14 per cent over the third quarter of 1992.

  ''The long awaited economic recovery failed to materialise as US gross national product growth rose by only 0.8 per cent in the first quarter and 1.9 per cent in the second.''   The lingering recession on the European continent held back exports to Europe as they rose only eight per cent in the first nine months.

  In western Germany, the downturn that was brought on in part by re-unification has persisted for longer than expected, which has affected exports, although total exports still increased by 13 per cent, thanks to a 23 per cent increase in re-exports.

  The economic slowdown that began in 1991 in France and Switzerland has also persisted, placing a damper on the amount of goods these countries buy from Hong Kong.

  Domestic exports to France decreased by 13 per cent over 1992, although re-exports increased by 18 per cent. Domestic exports to Switzerland decreased by 16 per cent, while re-exports increased by 17 per cent.

  The UK, which surfaced from the recession quicker than its continental counterparts, registered a seven per cent increase in total exports from Hong Kong in the first nine months.

  Total exports to Italy fell 11 per cent, as a result of that country's continued political and economic problems.

  Hong Kong exports recorded impressive growth in the former communist bloc: exports to Russia and Eastern Europe increased by 40 per cent in the first nine months of the year and to the former Yugoslavia by 23 per cent.

  Exports to other non-traditional areas also increased dramatically, with exports to Central and South America and the Middle East increasing by 17 per cent.

  The TDC forecasts that Hong Kong's trade will improve in 1994 as long as the US Government renews China's Most Favoured Nation trade status, which offers preferential tariff treatment to Chinese-made goods.

  ''As a whole, the economies of the US, western Europe and Japan are expected to pick up slightly,'' said the report.

  ''Combined with the low inventory levels of Hong Kong products in the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development countries, this should ensure an improvement in Hong Kong's export performance in 1994.

  ''At the same time, exports to the all-important China market should still be satisfactory, at least in the first half of 1994.''   It predicts an 18 per cent rise in exports, with re-exports rising 24 per cent and domestic exports falling three per cent.



Growth remains steady