Hong Kong Trade Balance Swings To Surplus On Exports Surge

(RTTNews) - Hong Kong's trade balance turned to a surplus in January from a deficit in the previous year as exports grew more rapidly than imports, data from the Census and Statistics Department showed on Tuesday.

The visible trade balance showed a surplus of HK$3.6 billion in January versus a deficit of HK$25.4 billion in the same month last year. In December, the shortfall was HK$59.9 billion.

The visible trade surplus of HK$3.6 billion was equivalent to 0.9 percent of the value of imports.

The annual rise in exports was 33.6 percent in January, following an 11.0 percent gain in December.

Total exports to Asia as a whole rose by 45.7 percent. Within this, shipments to Mainland China grew the most, by 54.2 percent. Shipments to India also surged by 51.0 percent.

Apart from destinations in Asia, outflows to France grew sharply, by 38.7 percent.

Compared to last year, exports were more seen in the categories of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof, the data showed.

Imports logged a strong annual growth of 22.7 percent in January, well above the 11.6 percent rise in the prior month.

"Looking ahead, slow global economic growth and geopolitical factors will continue to affect Hong Kong's export performance in the near term," a government spokesman said.