XN000022-1980-02-20 — Page 2

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1980

RE-EXPORTS SET NEW RECORD *****

HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS REACHED A RECORD OF $20 024 MILLION IN 1979, AN INCREASE OF 52 PER CENT OVER 1978, ACCORDING TO TRADE FIGURES RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THE FIVE LARGEST MARKETS FOR HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS AND COMPARATIVE FIGURES OF RE-EXPORTS VALUES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1979 (HK$ MN) (HK$ MN)

1978

INCREASE (HK$ MN)

PERCENTAGE CHANGE

JAPAN

2 477

2 282

+ 195

9

USA

1 995

1 232

+ 763

+ 62

SINGAPORE

1 804

1 390

+ 414

+ 30

TAIWAN

1 730

1 221

+ 509

+ 42

INDONESIA

1 684

1 302

+ 382

+ 29

JAPAN REMAINED THE LARGEST MARKET FOR HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS WITH SIGNIFICANT GROWTH RECORDED IN FISH, CRUSTACEANS AND MOLLUSCS (BY $110 MILLION OR 75 PER CENT), AND ELÉCTRICAL MACHINERY, APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES (BY $78 MILLION OR 149 PER CENT). HOWEVER, DECLINES WERE REGISTERED IN THE DEMAND FOR TEXTILES (BY $81 MILLION OR 18 PER CENT) AND PEARLS, PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES (BY $76 MILLION OR 11 PER CENT).

AMONG THE INCREASES IN RE-EXPORTS TO USA WERE CLOTHING (BY $182 MILLION OR 269 PER CENT), PEARLS, PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES (BY $98 MILLION OR 30 PER CENT), AND ELECTRICAL MACHINERY, APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES (BY $81 MILLION OR 70 PER CENT).

RE-EXPORTS TO SINGAPORE ALSO SHOWED SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN TEXTILES (BY $74 MILLION OR 52 PER CENT), AND PEARLS, PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES (BY $60 MILLION OR 47 PER CENT).

RE-EXPORTS TO TAIWAN SHOWED GOOD ADVANCES IN ELECTRICAL MACHINERY, APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES (BY $132 MILLION OR 76 PER CENT), TEXTILES (BY $40 MILLION OR 74 PER CENT), AND WATCHES AND CLOCKS (BY $39 MILLION OR 36 PER CENT).

INCREASES IN RE-EXPORTS TO INDONESIA WERE MAINLY MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURES OF METAL (BY $46 MILLION OR 55 PER CENT), ROAD VEHICLES (BY $36 MILLION OR 21 PER CENT), AND MACHINERY SPECIALISED FOR PARTICULAR INDUSTRIES (BY $24 MILLION OR 33 PER CENT).

/RE-EXPORTS

A