XN000022-1988-11-24 — Page 6

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1988

5

PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR OCTOBER 1988

HONG

KONG'S EXTERNAL TRADE

CONTINUED то SHOW

SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN OCTOBER 1988 OVER A YEAR EARLIER, WITH SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES RECORDED FOR RE-EXPORTS AND IMPORTS, AND A RELATIVELY SLOWER INCREASE IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS.

THIS IS

SHOWN IN THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES RELEASED TODAY

BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN OCTOBER 1988 WAS $20,066 MILLION, $1,878 MILLION OR 10.3 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN OCTOBER 1987, WHILE THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 55. 9 PER CENT OR $9,546 MILLION TO $26,628 MILLION.

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS (DOMESTIC EXPORTS PLUS RE-EXPORTS} AT $46,694 MILLION IN OCTOBER 1988, WAS THUS $11,424 MILLION OR 32.4 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN OCTOBER 1987.

THE VALUE OF IMPORTS GREW BY 31.9 PER CENT OR $11,078 MILLION OVER A YEAR EARLIER, TO $45,788 MILLION IN OCTOBER 1988.

THE VISIBLE TRADE BALANCE IN OCTOBER 1988 RECORDED A SURPLUS OF $906 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 2.0 PER CENT OF VALUE OF IMPORTS.

THIS COMPARES WITH A SURPLUS OF $560 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 1.6 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED IN OCTOBER 1987.

PUTTING THE TRADE FIGURES FOR OCTOBER IN PERSPECTIVE, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS IN THE FIRST TEN MONTHS OF 1988 WAS $396,015 MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF $176,439 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS OF $219,576 MILLION.

COMPARED WITH THE FIRST TEN MONTHS TOTAL EXPORTS GREW BY $90,530 MILLION OR EXPORTS BY $17,112 MILLION OR 10.7 PER $73,418 MILLION OR 50.2 PER CENT.

IN 1987, IN VALUE TERMS 29.6 PER CENT, DOMESTIC CENT,

AND RE-EXPORTS BY

IMPORTS GREW BY $95,531

OVER THE SAME PERIOD, THE VALUE OF MILLION OR 31.3 PER CENT, TO $400,391 MILLION,

A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT OF $4,376 MILLION,

IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF MONTHS OF 1988.

EQUIVALENT ΤΟ 1.1

THE IN

FIRST TEN

DURING THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, A VISIBLE TRADE SURPLUS OF $625 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO ONLY 0.2 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED.

SAID THAT

TEN

WITH

COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN

EXPORTS IN THE YEAR-ON-YEAR GROWTH RATE OF DOMESTIC

FIRST THE MONTHS OF 1988, THOUGH SIGNIFICANT, WAS LESS RAPID WHEN COMPARED THE CORRESPONDING GROWTH RATE OF 26.8 PER CENT FOR 1987 AS A WHOLE.

/THE SPOKESMAN