Hong Kong Trade Deficit Widens In December

(RTTNews) - Hong Kong's trade deficit increased in December from a year ago as imports grew faster than exports, data from the Census and Statistics Department showed on Thursday.

The visible trade deficit rose to HK$59.9 billion in December from HK$51.6 billion in the same month last year. In November, the shortfall was HK$27.9 billion.

The visible trade gap of HK59.9 billion was equivalent to 13.4 percent of the value of imports.

The annual rise in exports was 11.0 percent in December, faster than the 7.4 percent gain in November.

Total exports to Asia as a whole rose by 10.9 percent. Within this, shipments to India grew the most, by 46.1 percent. This was followed by Thailand with a 39.9 percent surge.

Apart from destinations in Asia, outflows to the USA grew sharply, by 25.6 percent.

Imports logged a strong annual growth of 11.6 percent in December, well above the 7.1 percent rise in the prior month.

During the whole year 2023, the total trade deficit of the country widened to HK$467.6 billion from HK$395.8 billion in 2022.

"Looking ahead, factors including heightened geopolitical tensions and slowing global economic growth will continue to weigh on Hong Kong's export performance in the near term," a government spokesperson said.