Hong Kong Current Account Surplus Shrinks To HK$63.8 Bln

(RTTNews) - Hong Kong's current account surplus decreased considerably in the final quarter of 2022, figures from the Census and Statistics Department showed on Tuesday.

The current account surplus declined to HK$63.8 billion in the December quarter from HK117.1 billion in the September quarter. The surplus also decreased from HK$82.8 billion in the corresponding period last year.

This implies that Hong Kong's savings were greater than its investment, enabling Hong Kong to accumulate external financial assets as a buffer against global financial volatilities, the agency said.

The goods trade surplus shrank to HK$0.85 billion in the fourth quarter from HK$15.3 billion in the third quarter. Similarly, the surplus on services trade dropped to HK$31.3 billion from HK$42.8 billion.

The primary income surplus also fell significantly from HK$62.8 billion to HK$35.4 billion. On the other hand, the negative balance in the secondary income narrowed fractionally to HK$3.73 billion from HK$3.79 billion.

The capital account deficit was HK$382 million versus HK$89.0 million. At the same time, the financial account deficit declined sharply to HK$32.9 billion from HK$147.7 billion.

During the fourth quarter, the overall balance of payments showed a deficit of 16.5 billion compared with a shortfall of HK$138.4 billion in the third quarter.