XN000022-1993-02-15 — Page 5

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1993

RE-EXPORT TRADE ASSUMES GREATER ROLE

RE-EXPORTS ACCOUNTED FOR 74.7% OF THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS AND 36.7% OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF EXTERNAL TRADE OF HONG KONG LAST YEAR. IN 1991, THE CORRESPONDING SHARES WERE 69.8% AND 34.6% RESPECTIVELY.

THESE FIGURES, AFFIRMING THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF RE-EXPORT TRADE, ARE AMONG THE DETAILED RE-EXPORT STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (MONDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

CHINA REMAINED THE LARGEST PARTNER FOR HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORT TRADE. OF THE TOTAL $691 BILLION OF RE-EXPORTS GOING THROUGH HONG KONG IN 1992, 86.2% OR $596 BILLION INVOLVED CHINA IN EITHER DIRECTION.

AS A COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, CHINA ACCOUNTED FOR 58.4% OF HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORT VALUE IN 1992. AS A COUNTRY OF DESTINATION, CHINA'S SHARE WAS 30.7%.

IT IS NOTED THAT MUCH OF THE RE-EXPORT TRADE INVOLVING CHINA IS RELATED TO OUTWARD PROCESSING, AS RAW MATERIALS AND SEMI-MANUFACTURED GOODS ARE EXPORTED TO CHINA FOR PROCESSING AND THE FINAL PRODUCTS SUBSEQUENTLY RETURNED TO HONG KONG.

OTHER MAJOR COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN FOR HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS

IN 1992 INCLUDED JAPAN (ACCOUNTING FOR A SHARE OF 12.3%), TAIWAN (7.9%), THE UNITED STATES (4.6%) AND THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA (2.8%).

THE MAJOR COUNTRIES OF DESTINATION IN 1992, BESIDES CHINA, INCLUDED THE UNITED STATES (ACCOUNTING FOR A SHARE OF 21.5%), JAPAN (5.4%), GERMANY (4.8%) AND TAIWAN (3.8%).

TABLE 1 SHOWS THE CHANGES IN THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS FROM THE 10 MAJOR COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN IN 1992 COMPARED WITH 1991.

COMPARING 1992 WITH 1991, INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS FROM MOST MAJOR COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: JAPAN (+48.5%), GERMANY (+34.2%), SINGAPORE (+33.3%), TAIWAN (+30.6%), THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA (+29.1%), CHINA (+27.9%), THE UNITED KINGDOM (+27.4%), FRANCE (+21.5%) AND THE UNITED STATES (+20.8%).

OF THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS ORIGINATING FROM CHINA IN 1992, 34.7% WENT TO THE UNITED STATES, 7.6% TO GERMANY AND 7.1% TO JAPAN.

FOR GOODS OF JAPAN ORIGIN, 65.4% OF THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS THROUGH HONG KONG IN 1992 WENT TO CHINA.

IN 1992, THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM REPLACED TAIWAN AS THE SECOND MAJOR COUNTRY OF DESTINATION FOR RE-EXPORTS OF JAPAN ORIGIN THROUGH HONG KONG.

AT $3,630 MILLION, THE VALUE OF JAPAN ORIGIN RE-EXPORTS THROUGH HONG KONG TO VIETNAM IN 1992 WAS ALMOST FIVE TIMES THAT IN 1991.

/FOR RE EXPORTS