XN000022-1994-09-29 — Page 10

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1994

THAT

AS

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS IN AUGUST 1994 WAS SMALLER THAN OF TOTAL IMPORTS, A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT OF $1.2 BILLION, EQUIVALENT то 1.1% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED.

THIS COMPARED WITH A DEFICIT OF $504 MILLION, 0.5% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, IN AUGUST 1993.

EQUIVALENT ΤΟ

IN THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF 1994, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS GREW BY 11% OVER THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.

AMONGST THIS, THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 14%, WHILE THAT OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS FELL BY 2.7%. THE VALUE OF IMPORTS SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 13%.

OF

IN THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF 1994, A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT $52.4 BILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 6.6% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED.

THIS COMPARED WITH A DEFICIT OF $29.1 BILLION, EQUIVALENT

TO 4.2% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED IN THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF 1993.

SHOW

COMMENTING ON THE LATEST TRADE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN NOTED THAT, AFTER A MODERATION IN JULY, RE-EXPORTS REBOUNDED TO DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH IN AUGUST. DOMESTIC EXPORTS ALSO ROSE NOTABLY IN AUGUST.

ON THE OTHER HAND, RETAINED IMPORTS WERE 17% HIGHER THAN A YEAR EARLIER. THIS SUGGESTED THAT DOMESTIC DEMAND SHOULD REMAIN ROBUST, AND DOMESTIC EXPORTS COULD BE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE то SHOW MODERATE INCREASE IN THE COMING MONTHS.

EXTERNAL TRADE FOR

A MORE DETAILED ANALYSIS OF HONG KONG'S AUGUST 1994, BY COMMODITY AND COUNTRY, WILL BE RELEASED IN MID-OCTOBER 1994.

/PROVISIONAL FIGURES

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