Hong Kong's merchandise exports in 2000 will show significant improvement from the sluggish performance in 1999 with an estimated rise by around six percent in both nominal and real terms, a senior trade and development official said in Hong Kong on December 29.

"Given the prospect of decent global growth, Hong Kong's recovery is expected to gather further momentum in 2000," Michael C. C. Sze, executive director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

With domestic exports projected to moderate from the declines in 1999 to pose a fall of three percent, the outlook for re- exports will be more optimistic in anticipation of further pick-up in export processing activities on the Chinese mainland amid the continued recuperation in intra-regional trade, and persistent demand from industrial countries, Sze said.

Mirroring largely an expected resurgence in re-export activities and a recovery in domestic demand, Sze said that the value of imports is also projected to surge by eight percent with import volume to increase by seven percent in 2000.

"In retrospect, the marked stabilization of macro-economic fundamentals and restoration of financial and trade activities in the once crisis-hit Asian economies is perhaps the most eye- catching development in this region in 1999," Sze said.

Figures recently released by the Census and Statistics Department showed that Hong Kong's total exports continued to accelerate in growth in November, for five months in a row since July this year, with a 10.3 percent increase in the value of total exports in November over a year earlier.

Sze attributed the steady increase in Hong Kong's trade to the encouraging external economic environment, such as US soft landing with continually healthy consumer spending, EU 's stronger non-inflationary economic upturn and Asian economic recovery.

Along with the brightening global trade environment, another positive development is the constructive trade and investment sentiment engendered by the China-US accord sought in November 1999 with respect to China's accession to the WTO, Sze said.

"These developments will impact positively on the merchandise and service exports from Hong Kong next year, though major benefits emanating from China's liberalization of its trade regime will likely materialize in years further ahead," Sze noted.

However, Sze pointed out that the trade environment next year will remain formidable amid intensifying competition from various fronts, leaving little ground for complacency.

According to Sze, competition in the US and EU markets and in the market of the rest of Asia will be more intense, and competition, along with the increased direct sourcing in the mainland by foreign companies will pose further challenges to Hong Kong traders.

A number of measures will be taken by his department to cope with new changes and challenges in world's market, Sze said.

Included are freezing the charge of services, setting up a special trade web-site on Internet, establishing special clients departments, expansion of the market share and services for Hong Kong products in Japan and China's mainland, and organizing more relevant exhibitions and seminars.

"We are quite optimistic of the future of Hong Kong's trade and our current recovery trend will continue next year since we have seen a very good sign showing a continuing economic growth in the United States, and a steady recovery in Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia," Sze concluded. (Xinhua)