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The Economy
the World Bank's Doing Business 2014 Report. Hong Kong has also been conferred the top triple-A credit rating by Standard and Poor's.
The size of the Hong Kong economy more than doubled over the past two decades, expanding at an average annual rate of 3.6 per cent in real terms, on par with that of the world economy and consistently faster than most high-income economies. Over the same period, Hong Kong's per capita GDP rose by about 70 per cent in real terms, posting an average annual growth rate of 2.6 per cent. Hong Kong's per capita GDP at current market prices reached US$38,100 in 2013, one of the highest in Asia (Chart 2).
Chart 2
Gross Domestic Product
Index (1993 = 100)
US$
250
40,000
Real GDP (left scale)
Per capita GDP at current market prices (right scale)
35,000
· 200
30,000
25,000
150
20,000
15,000
100
10,000
5,000
50
1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
Over the past two decades, the Hong Kong economy grew by an average of 3.6 per cent in real terms, on par with the world's economic growth and consistently faster than most high-income economies.
Thanks to continued globalisation, the further deepening of regional trade integration and the government's sustained efforts in exploring new markets, Hong Kong's trade linkages with other parts of the world have grown appreciably. Trade in goods and services more than tripled in real terms over the past two decades. In 2013, the total value of visible trade (comprising re- exports, domestic exports and imports of goods) reached $8,211 billion, equivalent to 387 per cent of GDP. This was considerably higher than the ratios of 225 per cent in 1993 and 282 per cent in 2003. Including the value of exports and imports of services, the ratio of total trade to GDP was even higher, at 459 per cent in 2013, up significantly from 263 per cent in 1993 and 327 per cent in 2003.
The stock of inward direct investment in Hong Kong was enormous, at $11,196 billion in market value at the end of 2013, equivalent to 527 per cent of GDP. It served as another vivid manifestation of Hong Kong's increasing international focus. Hong Kong is among the most preferred destinations for inward direct investment, ranked third in the world and second in Asia, only after the Mainland, by the United Nations' World Investment Report 2013.
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