XN000022-1985-04-21 — Page 5

SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 1985

HK LEADS WORLD IN THREE EXPORT CATEGORIES ******

HONG KONG WAS THE LARGEST EXPORTER OF CLOTHING, TOYS AND GAMES, AND ELECTRIC HAIR DRESSING APPARATUS IN THE WORLD IN 1983.

HONG KONG WAS ALSO THE SECOND LARGEST EXPORTER OF FANS, DOMESTIC TYPE (AFTER TAIWAN) AND THE THIRD LARGEST EXPORTER OF WATCHES COMPLETE (AFTER SWITZERLAND AND JAPAN) AND RADIO- BROADCAST RECEIVERS (AFTER JAPAN AND TAIWAN).

DETAILS OF THESE ARE CONTAINED IN THE HONG KONG REVIEW OF OVERSEAS TRADE IN 1984+, ON SALE AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE AT $15 PER COPY.

THE REVIEW CONTAINS A BRIEF TEXT ON HONG KONG'S EXTERNAL TRADE PERFORMANCE IN 1984, 18 GRAPHS AND 38 STATISTICAL APPENDICES WITH COMPARATIVE FIGURES FOR THE PREVIOUS YEARS.

THE REVIEW PRESENTS A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE DIRECTION AND COMPOSITION OF HONG KONG'S OVERSEAS TRADE IN 1984, INCLUDING A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF TRADE BY MAJOR TRADING PARTNERS AND BY COMMODITY CATEGORIES. AS WELL AS STATISTICS ON HONG KONG'S PERFORMANCE IN WORLD TRADE AND IN PRINCIPAL OVERSEAS MARKETS, COMPARED WITH THOSE OF MAJOR COMPETITORS.

ALSO INCLUDED IN THE PUBLICATION ARE STATISTICS ON EXCHANGE RATES OF PRINCIPAL FOREIGN CURRENCIES AND THE EFFECTIVE (TRADE-WEIGHTED) EXCHANGE RATE INDEX FOR THE HONG KONG

DOLLAR.

ACCORDING TO THE REVIEW, SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES IN VALUE WERE NOTED IN IMPORTS FROM CHINA (BY $12 932 MILLION OR 30 PER CENT) AND FROM JAPAN (BY $12 286 MILLION OR 30 PER CENT). THE OVERSEAS MARKETS WITH THE HIGHEST GROWTH IN VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS WERE THE U.S. (BY $17 573 MILLION OR 40 PER CENT) AND CHINA (BY $5 060 MILLION OR 81 PER CENT). HOWEVER, DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO EGYPT AND THE NIGERIA DROPPED CONSIDERABLY IN VALUE (BY $267 MILLION OR 48 PER CENT AND BY $265 MILLION OR 63 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY).

VAT COMMODITI