ENG-2011 — Page 86

50 The Economy

per cent in 2001. Including the value of exports and imports of services, the ratio of total trade to GDP was even higher, at 456 per cent in 2011, up significantly from 262 per cent in 1991 and 273 per cent in 2001.

The stock of inward direct investment in Hong Kong was enormous, at $8,840 billion in market value at the end of 2011, equivalent to 467 per cent of GDP. It served as another strong indicator of Hong Kong's increasingly international focus. Hong Kong is among the most preferred destinations for inward direct investment in Asia, ranked Number 2 in Asia by the United Nations' World Investment Report 2011, just after the Mainland.

The corresponding figures for Hong Kong's stock of outward direct investment were likewise huge, at $8,122 billion and 429 per cent of GDP. As an international financial centre with huge cross-territory fund flows, Hong Kong's external financial assets and liabilities were also substantial, at $23,228 billion and $17,771 billion respectively at the end of 2011. The corresponding ratios to GDP in that year were 1 226 per cent and 938 per cent. Reflecting Hong Kong's sound international investment position, its net external financial assets amounted to $5,457 billion at the end of 2011, equivalent to 288 per cent of GDP.

The Gross National Product (GNP), comprising GDP and net external factor income flows, stood at $1,950.7 billion in 2011. This was higher than the corresponding GDP by 3 per cent. The difference represented a net inflow of external factor income. In gross terms, inflows and outflows of external factor income remained substantial in 2011, at $1,019.7 billion and $962.9 billion respectively, equivalent to 54 per cent and 51 per cent of GDP respectively. This was attributable to the huge volumes of inward and outward investment in Hong Kong.

Contributions of the Various Economic Sectors

Primary production (including agriculture, fisheries, mining and quarrying) is insignificant in Hong Kong in terms of both value-added contribution to GDP and share in total employment, as the city is a predominantly urban economy.

Secondary production (comprising manufacturing, construction, and supply of electricity, gas and water), which contributed greatly to the value-added component of the total economy in the early 1980s, has since diminished in relative importance. Within this broad sector, the value-added contribution from manufacturing shrank from 17 per cent in 1990 to 5 per cent in 2000 and to only 2 per cent in 2010. The construction sector's contribution to GDP stayed at around 5 per cent between 1990 and 2000, then edging down successively, reaching 3 per cent in 2010. The supply of electricity, gas and water held relatively stable, with a share of around 2-3 per cent of GDP over the past two decades.

Hong Kong's economy has become increasingly service-oriented since the 1980s. The Mainland's open-door policy and economic reforms have not only provided an enormous production hinterland and market outlet for Hong Kong's manufacturers, but, more importantly, also created abundant business opportunities