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Apr exports value down 13%

The value of Hong Kong's total exports decreased to $338.3 billion in April, down 13% on the same month last year, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.   The value of imports of goods decreased 11.9% to $374.9 billion for the same period.   A trade deficit of $36.6 billion, or 9.8% of the value of imports, was recorded in April.   Comparing the three-month period ending April with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of exports rose 15.4%, while that of imports increased 10.7%.   The Government noted that the value of merchandise exports declined further from a year earlier in April. Exports to the Mainland, the US and the European Union all shrank and exports to other major Asian markets recorded decreases of varying degrees.   Looking ahead, it added that the weakness in the advanced economies will continue to weigh on Hong Kong's export performance, though the expected faster recovery of the Mainland economy should

Alfred Sit visits grassroots families

Secretary for Innovation & Technology Alfred Sit today joined a community care activity to distribute gift packs to the grassroots and visited two families in Kwun Tong.   The activity was organised by the Technology & Innovation Volunteers Alliance in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the 24th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.   Mr Sit distributed gift packs to residents to extend his warm wishes. He then visited two families living in a sublet unit and subdivided unit to learn more about their living conditions and children's educational needs.   He gave the children STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) toys and teaching materials to encourage them to build a good foundation in STEM.   Mr Sit thanked the innovation and technology sector for uniting together to launch volunteer services with their professional strength to help the underprivileged.   He said it is heartening to see collaboration from various fronts to help more people in need and arouse public awareness in narrowing the digital divide, especially grassroots students with educational needs, to provide them with a level playing field.   The alliance’s volunteer activities include giving away refurbished computers to the underprivileged, assisting students in online learning, offering free computer repair and maintenance services and training in coding.
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