XN000022-1994-08-15 — Page 10

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 1994

ANALYSIS OF HK'S RE-EXPORT TRADE IN FIRST HALF OF 1994

AND

RE-EXPORTS ACCOUNTED FOR 81% OF THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS 39% OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF EXTERNAL TRADE OF HONG KONG IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1994.

IN THE SAME PERIOD OF 1993, THE CORRESPONDING SHARES WERE 78% AND 38% RESPECTIVELY.

THESE FIGURES,

AFFIRMING THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF RE-EXPORT ARE AMONGST THE DETAILED RE-EXPORT STATISTICS RELEASED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (MONDAY).

TRADE,

CHINA REMAINED THE LARGEST PARTNER FOR HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORT TRADE. OF THE TOTAL $428.3 BILLION OF RE-EXPORTS GOING THROUGH HONG KONG IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1994, 88% OR $378.4 BILLION INVOLVED CHINA IN EITHER DIRECTION.

RE-EXPORTS ORIGINATING IN CHINA ACCOUNTED FOR 56% OF HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORT VALUE IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1994. AS A DESTINATION, CHINA'S SHARE WAS 35%.

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 MAIN ORIGINS FOR HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1994 INCLUDED JAPAN (ACCOUNTING FOR A SHARE OF 14%), TAIWAN (7.9%), THE UNITED STATES (4.8%) AND THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA (3.0%).

THE MAIN DESTINATIONS IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1994, BESIDES CHINA, INCLUDED THE UNITED STATES (ACCOUNTING FOR A SHARE OF 21%), JAPAN (5.5%), GERMANY (4.5%) AND THE UNITED KINGDOM (2.9%).

TABLE 1 SHOWS THE CHANGES IN THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS FROM THE 10 MAIN ORIGINS IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1994 COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.

COMPARING THE FIRST HALF OF 1994 WITH THE SAME PERIOD IN 1993, INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS FROM MOST MAIN ORIGINS: SINGAPORE (+34%), MALAYSIA (+27%), THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA (+26%), FRANCE (+22%), THE UNITED KINGDOM (+20%), THE UNITED STATES (+17%), GERMANY (+17%), CHINA (+14%), TAIWAN (+10%) AND JAPAN (+10%).

OF THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS ORIGINATING IN CHINA IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1994, 35% WENT TO THE UNITED STATES, 7.9% TO JAPAN AND 7.7% TO GERMANY.

FOR GOODS OF JAPAN ORIGIN, 75% OF THE VALUE OF THROUGH HONG KONG IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1994 WENT TO CHINA, UNITED STATES AND 2.7% TO THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA.

RE-EXPORTS 3.9% TO THE

FOR RE-EXPORTS ORIGINATING IN TAIWAN, AN OVERWHELMING PROPORTION (91% OF THE VALUE IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1994) WENT TO CHINA.

P

AS REGARDS RE-EXPORTS ORIGINATING IN THE UNITED STATES 65% OF THE VALUE IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1994 WERE SHIPPED TO CHINA, 4.8% TO THE PHILIPPINES AND 4.8% TO TAIWAN.

/TABLE 2

Page 10Page 11