XN000022-1993-11-26 — Page 16

—

15

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1993

OVER THE SAME PERIOD, THE VALUE OF

IMPORTS INCREASED ONLY

MODERATELY, BY $3,545 MILLION OR 3.9% TO $93,566 MILLION.

AS THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS WAS GREATER THAN THAT OF TOTAL IMPORTS, A VISIBLE TRADE SURPLUS OF $2,797 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 3%

THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED IN OCTOBER 1993.

OF

THIS COMPARED WITH A DEFICIT OF $244 MILLION, 0.3% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED IN OCTOBER 1992.

EQUIVALENT

ΤΟ

IN THE FIRST 10 MONTHS OF 1993, THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS AMOUNTED TO $677,099 MILLION, WHICH WAS $113,859 MILLION OR 20% HIGHER THAN A YEAR EARLIER.

MILLION

$8,838

THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS, AT $183,300 MILLION, WAS OR 4.6% LOWER THAN THAT IN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.

TAKING RE-EXPORTS AND DOMESTIC EXPORTS TOGETHER, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS IN THE FIRST 10 MONTHS OF 1993, AT $860,399 MILLION, WAS $105,020 MILLION OR 14% HIGHER THAN A YEAR EARLIER. THE VALUE OF IMPORTS INCREASED BY $104,122 MILLION OR 13% TO $884,078 MILLION.

A TRADE DEFICIT OF $23,679 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 2.7% OF VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED IN THE FIRST 10 MONTHS OF 1993.

THE

THIS COMPARED WITH A TRADE DEFICIT OF $24,577 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 3.2% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED A YEAR EARLIER.

COMMENTING ON THE LATEST TRADE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN SAID THE MORE MODEST TRADE PERFORMANCE IN OCTOBER WAS PARTLY AFFECTED BY THE HIGH BASE OF COMPARISON IN OCTOBER 1992 WHEN RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 33% AND DOMESTIC EXPORTS BY 3% OVER OCTOBER 1991.

PARTICULARLY IN

THE WEAKER DEMAND IN THE OVERSEAS MARKETS, NORTH AMERICA AND CONTINENTAL EUROPE, HAD ALSO DAMPENED EXPORT PERFORMANCE IN RECENT MONTHS.

CONCURRENTLY, CHINA'S RESTRAINT MEASURES MIGHT HAVE BEGUN ΤΟ FILTER THROUGH TO AFFECT HONG KONG'S EXTERNAL TRADE.

THE SHARE OF RE-EXPORTS IN THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS FURTHER TO 79% IN THE FIRST 10 MONTHS OF 1993, FROM 75% IN THE PERIOD IN 1992.

ROSE

SAME

THE GROWTH RATE OF THE VALUE OF RETAINED IMPORTS SLOWED DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY, FROM 16% IN 1992 TO ONLY 4.2% IN THE FIRST 10 MONTHS OF THIS YEAR.

THIS REFLECTED A CONSOLIDATION AFTER THE LARGE INCREASES IN THE PREVIOUS QUARTERS.

A MORE DETAILED ANALYSIS OF HONG KONG'S EXTERNAL TRADE IN OCTOBER 1993, BY COMMODITY AND COUNTRY, WILL BE RELEASED IN MID-

DECEMBER.

/PROVISIONAL FIGURES