Commerce and Industry | 97
re-exports jumped 6 per cent to $2,733.4 billion compared to the previous year. Imports increased by 5.5 per cent to $3,025.3 billion. (A summary is provided in the appendices)
Hong Kong's largest trading partner in 2008 was the Mainland, followed by the United States (US) and Japan. In 2008, Hong Kong was the world's 13th largest trading entity in terms of value of merchandise trade.
Imports
Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and their electrical parts constituted the largest share of total imports in 2008 at $764.4 billion, followed by telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment ($407.2 billion) and office machines and automatic data processing machines ($265.6 billion).
In 2008, the Mainland, Japan and Singapore were Hong Kong's major suppliers, accounting for 46.6 per cent, 9.8 per cent and 6.4 per cent respectively of the total value of imports.
Domestic Exports
Articles of apparel and clothing accessories continued to be the largest component of domestic exports, valued at $22.3 billion or 24.6 per cent of the total value of domestic exports in 2008.
exports in 2008. Other major export items included telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment; electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and their electrical parts.
The Mainland, the US and Taiwan were Hong Kong's largest markets during the year, absorbing 38.3 per cent, 20.8 per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively of the total value of domestic exports.
Re-exports
In 2008, electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and their electrical parts worth $684.9 billion were the principal commodities re-exported (25.1 per cent of the total value of re-exports). This was followed by the re-exports of telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment, which amounted to $459.0 billion (16.8 per cent of the total value of re-exports). The Mainland, Japan and Taiwan were the main origins of the re-exports, while the Mainland, the US and Japan were the main destinations.
The Manufacturing Sector
With the expansion of manufacturing activities offshore since the 1980s, Hong Kong has evolved into a strategic control centre with an increasingly globalised production network. In spite of Hong Kong's economic restructuring, manufacturing remained an important sector of the economy, providing employment to 163 500 people (4.6 per cent of overall employment) in 2008.
The printing and publishing industry was the largest employer in the manufacturing sector as at December 2008, followed by the food and beverages