Hong Kong's total exports increase 24% in Sept.

The value of Hong Kong's total exports and imports of goods rose by 24.1 percent and 19.5 percent in September, over the same month last year, the city's Census and Statistics Department said Tuesday.

According to figures released by the department on Tuesday, in September the value of total exports of goods rose 24.1 percent over a year earlier to 280.2 billion HK dollars (about 36.12 billion U.S. dollars). Within this total the value of re-exports grew 24.2 percent to 274.2 billion HK dollars while the value of domestic exports rose 17.1 percent to 6 billion HK dollars.

Concurrently, the value of imports of goods rose 19.5 percent over a year earlier to 304.7 billion HK dollars, after a year-on-year increase of 28.4 percent in August. A visible trade deficit of 24.4 billion HK dollars, equivalent to 8 percent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in September.

For this year's first nine months, the value of total exports of goods rose 26.1 percent over the same period last year.

Within this total, the value of re-exports went up 26.2 percent while the value of domestic exports increased 21.8 percent. A visible trade deficit of 245 billion HK dollars, equivalent to 9.9 percent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in the year 's first nine months.

The department said the Asian market continued to expand vibrantly, driven by strong industrial production activities and investment demand. The strong domestic demand in Asia and the resurgence in intra-regional trade flows should continue to be supportive to Hong Kong's merchandise exports.

However, there are still considerable "headwinds" in the external environment, it said, with the still fragile recovery in the advanced economies, rising protectionist sentiments and heightened volatility in exchange rate markets.

Source:Xinhua