XN000022-1996-02-29 — Page 10

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A government spokesman said the strong export performance in January, involving an accelerated growth in both domestic exports and re-exports, was encouraging.

Meanwhile, the value of retained imports also showed a marked increase, by 29% over a year earlier, reflecting continued strong import demand for production and capacity expansion purposes.

The table annexed presents the external trade figures in January 1996.

A more detailed analysis of Hong Kong's external trade for January 1996, by commodity and country, will be released in mid-March 1996.

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