XN000022-1990-08-24 — Page 3

2

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1990

"A LARGE PART PROCESSING ACTIVITIES

OF THESE RE-EXPORTS WERE RELATED COMMISSIONED BY HONG KONG

ΤΟ MANUFACTURERS

OUTWARD IN

11

CHINA, HE ADDED.

TURNING

RE-EXPORTS, ΤΟ

MR TANG POINTED OUT THAT

TOTAL

EXPORTS GREW BY ABOUT 10 PER CENT IN REAL TERMS IN THE FIRST HALF 1990 OVER A YEAR EARLIER.

RE-

OF

"WITHIN THIS TOTAL, RE-EXPORTS OF CHINA ORIGIN WERE HIGHER ABOUT 20 PER CENT IN REAL TERMS.

BY

OF "AS THE PERFORMANCE OF RE-EXPORTS WAS MUCH BETTER THAN THAT

EXPORTS, THE SHARE OF RE-EXPORTS IN OVERALL DOMESTIC

EXPORTS ROSE FURTHER TO 65 PER CENT IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1990, FROM 61 PER CENT THE FIRST HALF OF 1989," HE SAID.

IN

WHILE RE-EXPORTS TO MARKETS OTHER THAN CHINA CONTINUED TO SIGNIFICANTLY, RE-EXPORTS TO CHINA WERE STILL ON THE DECLINE, AFFECTED MAINLY BY CHINA'S AUSTERITY PROGRAMME.

RISE

BEING

KONG'S

"BUT CHINA REMAINED THE LARGEST MARKET FOR HONG EXPORTS, ACCOUNTING FOR 27 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL IN THE FIRST HALF 1990, MR TANG SAID.

"IT

ALSO

CENT THE LARGEST SOURCE, WITH 56 PER WAS KONG'S RE-EXPORTS IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1990 ORIGINATING FROM HE NOTED.

RE-

OF

OF

HONG

CHINA,

IMPORTS ROSE

FIRST BY ABOUT 3 PER CENT IN REAL TERMS IN HALF OF 1990 OVER A YEAR EARLIER. RETAINED IMPORTS, HOWEVER, DECLINED BY ABOUT 3 PER CENT IN REAL TERMS.

THE

GOODS

+

MATERIALS

CHANGE.

AND

SEMI- RETAINED

"ANALYSED BY END-USE CATEGORIES, RETAINED IMPORTS OF CONSUMER AND FUELS DECREASED, WHILE THOSE OF RAW MANUFACTURES AND OF CAPITAL GOODS SHOWED IMPORTS OF FOODSTUFFS REGISTERED AN INCREASE," HE SAID.

LITTLE

A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT OF $8,198 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 3 CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED IN THE FIRST HALF OF YEAR.

PER

THIS

"THIS WAS SMALLER THAN THE DEFICIT OF $13,470 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 5 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED IN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, MR TANG SAID,

++

DOMESTIC DEMAND REMAINED WEAK IN THE FIRST QUARTER, SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT IN THE SECOND QUARTER.

BUT SHOWED

ON CONSUMPTION, THE DECLINE IN RETAINED IMPORTS GOODS HAD MODERATED CONSIDERABLY IN THE SECOND QUARTER, RETAIL SALES WERE STILL SLOW.

OF

CONSUMER EVEN THOUGH

IN

ON INVESTMENT, RETAINED IMPORTS OF CAPITAL GOODS (EXCLUDING AIRCRAFT IMPORTED IN MARCH AND MAY) ALSO SHOWED A SMALLER DECLINE THE SECOND QUARTER THAN IN THE FIRST.

/THE YEAR-ON-YEAR