XN000022-1989-12-06 — Page 20

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1989

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SURVEY ON IMPORTS FROM CHINA FOR FIRST AND SECOND QUARTERS

* * * * *

TO PROVIDE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF OUTWARD PROCESSING IN CHINA BY HONG KONG FIRMS, THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT INITIATED A SAMPLE SURVEY THIS YEAR TO ENABLE IT TO SPLIT HONG KONG'S IMPORTS FROM CHINA INTO THOSE WHICH WERE RELATED TO OUTWARD PROCESSING AND THOSE WHICH WERE NOT.

THE RESULTS FOR THE FIRST AND SECOND QUARTERS OF 1989 ARE ANNOUNCED TODAY (WEDNESDAY).

THE RESULTS SHOW THAT IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1989 SOME 59 PER CENT OF HONG KONG'S IMPORTS FROM CHINA WERE RELATED TO OUTWARD PROCESSING; WHILE IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1989 THE FIGURE WAS SOME 57 PER CENT.

IN VALUE TERMS, THESE PROPORTIONS IMPLY THAT SOME $23,581 MILLION OF THE $40,292 MILLION OF IMPORTS FROM CHINA IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1989 WERE RELATED TO OUTWARD PROCESSING; WHEREAS SOME $27,641 MILLION OF THE $48, 499 MILLION OF IMPORTS FROM CHINA IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1989 WERE RELATED TO OUTWARD PROCESSING.

ΤΟ

FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE SURVEY, IMPORTS FROM CHINA RELATED OUTWARD PROCESSING REFER TO THE IMPORTING OF GOODS FROM CHINA OF WHICH ALL OR PART OF THEIR RAW MATERIALS OF SEMI-MANUFACTURES ARE UNDER CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENT EXPORTED FROM OR THROUGH HONG KONG ΤΟ CHINA FOR PROCESSING.

A SAMPLE OF TRADE DECLARATIONS CHINA WERE SELECTED FOR ENUMERATION INFORMATION FROM ESTABLISHMENTS.

IN RESPECT OF IMPORTS FROM ΤΟ OBTAIN THE REQUIRED

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT EXPLAINED THAT UNDER THE EXISTING INTERNATIONALLY ACCEPTED SYSTEM OF RECORDING TRADE FLOWS, ALL MOVEMENTS OF GOODS ACROSS THE BORDER, FOR WHATEVER PURPOSE, ARE RECORDED AS EXTERNAL TRADE. THUS THE MOVEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH OUTWARD PROCESSING ARE CORRECTLY INCLUDED REGULAR TRADE STATISTICS.

OF GOODS IN THE

"THE FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY FACILITATE A MORE INFORMED ANALYSIS OF THE NATURE OF HONG KONG-CHINA TRADE. THE SURVEY RESULTS ARE THUS A USEFUL SUPPLEMENT TO THE REGULAR TRADE STATISTICS," THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

"THIS SURVEY CAN BE VIEWED AS AN EXTENSION OF THE SCOPE OF THE SURVEY ON EXPORTS TO CHINA FOR OUTWARD PROCESSING WHICH WAS LAUNCHED AS FROM THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1988.

"RESULTS OF THE SURVEY ON EXPORTS ΤΟ CHINA FOR OUTWARD PROCESSING FOR THE FIRST AND SECOND QUARTERS OF 1989 HAD ALREADY BEEN RELEASED. STARTING FROM THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1989, RESULTS OF BOTH SURVEYS WILL BE RELEASED AT THE SAME TIME," THE SPOKESMAN ADDED.

WILL "HONG KONG

SURVEY RESULTS FOR THE FIRST AND SECOND QUARTERS OF 1989 BE INCLUDED IN PART I OF THE SEPTEMBER 1989 ISSUE OF THE EXTERNAL TRADE" WHICH IS NOW ON SALE AT THE GOVERNMENT CENTRE, GROUND FLOOR, GPO BUILDING, CONNAUGHT PLACE,

$17.50 PER COPY.

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