FRIDAY, MAY 29, 1992
RE-EXPORTS TO CHINA CONTINUED TO SURGE, AS OUTWARD PROCESSING ACTIVITIES ACROSS THE BORDER EXPANDED FURTHER AND AS CHINA ABSORBED MORE IMPORTS FOR ITS OWN USE.
RE-EXPORTS OF CHINA ORIGIN ALSO INCREASED MARKEDLY. CHINA REMAINED THE LARGEST MARKET FOR AS WELL AS THE LARGEST SOURCE OF HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS, ACCOUNTING FOR 29% AND 58% RESPECTIVELY OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS IN THE FIRST QUARTER.
IMPORTS REGISTERED A SHARP INCREASE OF ABOUT 22% IN REAL TERMS
IN THE FIRST QUARTER OVER A YEAR EARLIER.
MOST OF THIS GROWTH WAS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE SURGE IN RE- EXPORTS, ALTHOUGH THE RISE IN RETAINED IMPORTS, BY ABOUT 10% IN REAL TERMS, ALSO CONTRIBUTED.
AMONG THE VARIOUS END-USE CATEGORIES, RETAINED IMPORTS OF CONSUMER GOODS RECORDED THE FASTEST INCREASE, BY ABOUT 29% IN REAL TERMS, FOLLOWED BY THOSE OF CAPITAL GOODS AND OF RAW MATERIALS AND SEMI-MANUFACTURES, BY ABOUT 11% AND 5% RESPECTIVELY.
A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT OF $9,638 MILLION WAS RECORDED IN FIRST QUARTER OF 1992, EQUIVALENT TO 5% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS.
THE
THE CORRESPONDING DEFICIT IN THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR WAS $9,815 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 6% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS.
ACCORDING TO THE PRELIMINARY ESTIMATE OF QUARTERLY GDP IN CONSTANT PRICE TERMS, PRIVATE CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE, AS THE LARGEST COMPONENT OF DOMESTIC DEMAND, GREW BY 8% IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 1991 OVER A YEAR EARLIER, FOLLOWING A SIMILAR INCREASE IN THE THIRD QUARTER.
THE EXPENDITURE OF HONG KONG RESIDENTS TRAVELLING ABROAD RECORDED PARTICULARLY STRONG GROWTH. AS REGARDS GOVERNMENT CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE, THE GROWTH RATE IN NATIONAL ACCOUNTS TERMS WAS 5% IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 1991 OVER A YEAR EARLIER. THE GROWTH RATE IN THE THIRD QUARTER WAS SIMILAR.
LOCAL INVESTMENT, MEASURED IN TERMS OF GROSS DOMESTIC FIXED CAPITAL FORMATION, ROSE BY 9% IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 1991 OVER A YEAR EARLIER, AFTER AN INCREASE OF 11% IN THE THIRD QUARTER. OF THE MAIN COMPONENTS, EXPENDITURE ON MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT SHOWED A MARKED INCREASE, BY 22% IN THE FOURTH QUARTER, HAVING RISEN BY 24% IN THE THIRD QUARTER.
ON THE OTHER HAND, DUE TO THE COMPLETION OR WINDING DOWN OF SOME MAJOR PROJECTS, EXPENDITURE ON BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION FELL BY 4% IN THE FOURTH QUARTER, FOLLOWING A DECLINE OF 3% IN THE THIRD QUARTER.
CONSUMER DEMAND PICKED UP FURTHER IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1992. RETAINED IMPORTS OF CONSUMER GOODS ROSE SUBSTANTIALLY, BY ABOUT 29% IN REAL TERMS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OVER A YEAR EARLIER.
/THE VOLUME