XN000022-1988-02-27 — Page 2

+

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1988

PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR JANUARY RELEASED

HONG JANUARY 1988.

KONG'S

EXTERNAL TRADE

CONTINUED TO

GROW

RAPIDLY IN

TODAY

THE YEAR-ON-YEAR GROWTH RATE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS WAS,

DECEMBER 1987, ACCORDING TO THE LOWER THAN IN FIGURES RELEASED

(SATURDAY) BY THE DEPARTMENT.

HOWEVER, PROVISIONAL TRADE

AND CENSUS

STATISTICS

THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC

EXPORTS IN

THE VALUE

RE-EXPORTS

INCREASED

JANUARY

BY 53

1988

WAS $16,477 1987, PER CENT OR

MILLION, 17.2 PER CENT OR $2.424 MILLION HIGHER THAN IN JANUARY WHILE

OF $6,360 MILLION TO $18,364 MILLION.

RE-EXPORTS), MILLION HIGHER THAN

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS (DOMESTIC EXPORTS PLUS AT $34,841 MILLION, WAS 33.7 PER CENT OR $8,784 IN JANUARY 1987.

THE VAL

OF IMPORTS GREW BY 41 OVER JANUARY 1987 TO $33,150 MILLION,

PER CENT

OR

$9,634

MILLION

LARGER THAN MILLION, RECORDED POR

AS THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS IN JANUARY 1988 WAS THAT OF

A IMPORTS,

VISIBLE TRADE

OF $1,691 SURPLUS EQUIVALENT TO 5.1 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS THE MONTH. THIS SURPLUS WAS, HOWEVER, LARGELY SEASONAL.

FOR ANY THAT MAY

FIGURES INTERPRETING

FLUCTUATIONS

CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED IN INDIVIDUAL MONTH IN ISOLATION, IN VIEW OF THE OCCUR FROM MONTH TO MONTH.

PUTTING THE MONTH'S TRADE FIGURES INTO CONTEXT,

TOTAL EXPORTS FOR THE 12

UP OF

MONTHS DOMESTIC

MILLION, MADR RE-EXPORTS OF $189,140 MILLION.

ENDING JANUARY 1988

OF EXPORTS

$197,678

THE VALUE OF WAS $386,818 MILLION

AND

VALUE 1987, THE

OF COMPARED WITH THE 12 MONTHS ENDING JANUARY

OR 36.4 PER CENT, THA'T OF TOTAL EXPORTS GREW BY $103,324 MILLION

PER CENT, AND THAT OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS BY $40,172 MILLION OR 25.5 RE-EXPORTS BY $63,152 MILLION OR 50,1 PER CENT.

IMPORTS OREW BY

OVER THE SAME PERIOD, THE VALUE OF MILLION OR 38.1 PER CENT, TO $387,582 MILLION,

$106,918

PER

MONTHS

A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT OF $764 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 0.2

WAS RECORDED DURING THE 12 CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, ENDING JANUARY 1988.

THESE

FIGURES.

A

ON COMMENTING SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT THE TRADE FIGURES IN

GOVERNMENT

THE FIRST TWO MONTHS YEAR

SECRETARIAT

YEAR, WHILE IN

THIS

OF THE YEAR WERE USUALLY AFFECTED BY THE TIMING OF THE LUNAR NEW

LAST HOLIDAYS, WHICH OCCURRED IN LATE JANUARY YEAR THEY OCCURRED IN MID-FEBRUARY,

/THUS, THE