Skip to main content

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

Euro trade reps briefed

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau today updated the European Union (EU) trade commissioners and representatives of European chambers of commerce in Hong Kong on the city's business outlook and initiatives related to commerce and trade in the 2021 Policy Address.   At a business breakfast organised by the European Union Office to Hong Kong & Macao today, Mr Yau said that the EU is one of Hong Kong's largest trading partners in goods and services and has established close trade relations with Hong Kong over the years.   He noted that Hong Kong is a free and open economy with a robust legal system and a highly internationalised business environment.   Mr Yau added that being an ideal gateway for business and investment on the Mainland and the Asia Pacific region, Hong Kong will continue to strive to help businesses, both local and international, grasp the tremendous opportunities arising from the development of the Mainland as well as its integration with the region and the global market.   He cited the results of the two latest annual surveys conducted by Invest Hong Kong and the Census & Statistics Department to demonstrate the vibrant business environment of Hong Kong.   The number of business operations in Hong Kong with parent companies overseas or on the Mainland reached 9,049 and the number of startups in Hong Kong was 3,755 in 2021, both reaching record highs.   Mr Yau noted that these figures demonstrate fully that despite the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, Hong Kong remains an ideal place for companies to set up or expand their businesses, as well as for startups to flourish.   He also pointed out that Hong Kong's trade performance displayed resilience despite the COVID-19 epidemic, with Hong Kong's global ranking in terms of total merchandise trade value rinsing to sixth place last year.   Benefitting from stable supply chains maintained through effective control of the epidemic on the Mainland, the value of Hong Kong's total merchandise trade has rebounded since the fourth quarter of last year and hit a record high of $6.5099 trillion for the first eight months of this year, Mr Yau said.   He also highlighted the support measures for the convention and exhibition (C&E) industry in the Policy Address.   The validity period of the Convention & Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme has been extended for six months to the end of 2022. Funds have also been allocated under the scheme to provide one-off immediate relief to eligible private exhibition organisers.   In the long run, the Government will expand C&E facilities.
http://dlvr.it/S9rwt9

Popular posts from this blog

Legal officer changes proposed

The Government has proposed to amend the law to allow legal officers of the Department of Justice to be appointed as a senior counsel.   At a media session after attending a Legislative Council meeting today, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng explained the rationale behind the Government's proposal.   She said: “Why is it that my colleagues in the Department of Justice - who by their qualifications are solicitors but are actually arguing very well and very efficiently with great eloquence and efficacy in the Court of Final Appeal - are not being recognised when they are actually even better than their counterparts? That has always been something that sometimes troubles me.   “And for that reason, I have always been thinking about how we are going to overcome that problem.   “Now, what really triggers my determination to take this further forward is when one of our Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions, Vinci Lam, took silk on May 29.   “That really showed that the form

124 COVID-19 cases reported

The Centre for Health Protection today said it is investigating 124 additional COVID-19 cases. More cases were detected in Kwai Chung Estate. There are also more than 70 preliminary positive cases.   Among the newly reported cases, 33 are related to Kwai Chung Estate, bringing the total number of positive and preliminary positive cases in the estate to 276.   One more positive case was found after an earlier confirmed case occurred at Glory Court, Tsuen Wan Garden, both of them live in units 5 but on two different floors. The centre has co-ordinated with related government departments and conducted an inspection today.    It was preliminarily considered that vertical transmission of virus via pipes is involved.   The centre will issue quarantine orders to residents of unit 5 on all floors of the building who resided there during the incubation period of the relevant cases and transfer them to a quarantine facility.   As it is possible that virus might be ejected from the open

Govt explains vaccine surplus plan

The Government said it will discuss with the drug manufacturers on how to handle the expected surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses concerning this year's COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.   It made the statement in response to a media report which claimed that Hong Kong will throw away millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses due to low vaccination rate.   The Government noted that as at May 24, out of the two million odd doses each of the Sinovac and BioNTech vaccine which have arrived in Hong Kong, there are 1.05 million and 840,000 unused doses.   It pointed out that the BioNTech vaccine needs to be stored in an ultra-low temperature setting and the vaccines have a relatively short expiry date from the date of manufacture which is around three to four months after arrival in Hong Kong. The vaccines now in storage will expire in mid-August.   The Government observed that the public's demand for the BioNTech vaccine has gradually become sluggish recently.   Compared with the daily