3
The Economy
The Services Sector
The services sector is where Hong Kong's competitive advantage lies. Over the past five years between 2007 and 2012, the value-added part of the services sector grew by a cumulative 16 per cent in real terms, outpacing the corresponding 13 per cent growth of the overall economy. Among the constituent service sectors, wholesale and retail trades showed the fastest cumulative growth of 60 per cent. This, coupled with the 9 per cent growth in accommodation and food services, reflected the solid domestic demand and the vibrant inbound tourism. Notwithstanding the global financial crisis and the euro debt crisis during this period, financing and insurance recorded solid growth of 19 per cent, a testament to Hong Kong's position as an international financial centre. Import and export trade saw a 19 per cent increase over the period, while transport and storage services grew steadily by 12 per cent, underlining the competitiveness of Hong Kong's trading and logistics sector.
In 2011, the services sector directly contributed 93 per cent to GDP. Import/export, wholesale and retail trades, and accommodation and food services remained the largest service sectors, accounting for 29 per cent of GDP. This was followed by financing and insurance, real estate, professional and business services (27 per cent), public administration, social and personal services (16 per cent), transportation, storage, postal and courier services, and information and communications (10 per cent) (Chart 5).
Chart 5
Gross Domestic Product by Major Sector
Transport, storage and
communications
9%
Finance, insurance,
real estate
1991
Wholesale, retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels 24%
Transportation, storage, postal and courier services, information and
communications
9.6%
2011
Import/export, wholesale
and retail trades, accommodation and food services 29.4%
and business
services
21%
Community, social and personal services 14.4%
Other
sectors 31.7%
Financing and insurance, real estate, professional and business services 27.4%
Public administration, social and personal services 16.5%
Other
sectors
17.1%
The import/export, wholesale and retail trades, accommodation and food services sector, and the financing and insurance, real estate, professional and business services sector remained the two largest service sectors in terms of net output in 2011.
Note: Due to adoption of the Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification Version 2.0, the series from 2000 onwards are not strictly comparable with those of the earlier years.
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