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business activity. Hong Kong's export performance was to some extent tied to the economic fortunes of these countries. Total exports to Germany, France, the
Netherlands, Spain and Portugal all recorded sizeable gains from 23% to 66%, whereas sales to the UK rose only 9%. Notable increases were also registered for some non-EEC markets, such as Scandinavia (+18%) and Austria (+48%). Despite the continuing expansion achieved in Europe, Hong Kong exports remain susceptible to EEC anti-
dumping allegations. Audio and video tapes and small-screen colour TV sets have been subjected to anti-dumping duties. Although proceedings against other products have been terminated, further allegations cannot be ruled out.
ASIA
Export growth to Asia tapered off after remarkable increases in the past few years. Total exports rose by 10% in 1990, compared to 15% for the preceding year. The deceleration was a result of a slowdown in export expansion to China and Japan-the largest markets in the region. While several other Asian countries continued to show a strong absorption capacity for Hong Kong goods, the gains were insufficient to sustain the momentum seen in the past few years.
In China, the austerity programme begun at the end of 1988 continued largely unabated, despite the credit relaxation. Industrial growth slowed to 6%. Trade recentralisation and restrictions on foreign 1g products (especially consumer goods) also affected imports adversely. Against this background, Hong Kong's total exports, which started to slow down in mid-1989, rose by only 8% in 1990. While re-exports grew by 7%, domestic exports, three-
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quarters of which comprised material supplies for outward processing in the mainland, posted a 10% gain for the year. Mainland enterprises engaged in processing for Hong Kong interests have therefore been able to increase their level of activity, which was reflected in the continued growth of Hong Kong re-exports of China origin.
The performance in Japan was lacklustre compared to previous years, with exports to the country gaining 3%. The small increase, coming after several years of high growth, was due in part to the yen's sharp depreciation in the first half of the year, as well as to growing consumer preference for Western brand-name products. In contrast, Hong Kong exports to other Asian markets remained strong,
700 HK$BILLION
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
80 81
500 HKSBILLION
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
80
81
32
82
83 84 85 86 87 88
89 90
өө
Hong Kong's Imports 1980 - 1990
Imports
Retained Imports
PERCENTAGE% 80
8 ཧྨ རྔུ གཽ ཟླུ གྒgཨྰཿསྡུཡྻཡྻུཾ
Hong Kong's Re-exports 1980 - 1990
75
70
Re-exports
65
60
% Share of Total Exports
55
50
45
40
35
30
89
82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89
90
9
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