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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

Chief Executive John Lee will meet Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo at Government House tomorrow, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced today.   The Congo president is in the People’s Republic of China for a state visit and will arrive in Hong Kong for a two-day trip. http://dlvr.it/Spnmcs

Chief Executive John Lee today met visiting Philippine Senate President Juan Miguel Fernandez Zubiri to exchange views on matters of common interest.   Mr Lee said Hong Kong and the Philippines have maintained close exchanges and co-operation in various fields such as trade, investment and finance, and that Hong Kong is an important trading and investment partner for the Philippines and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries. He encouraged more Philippine enterprises and talent to develop in Hong Kong and make better use of its professional services and internationalised business environment for expanding into Mainland markets, including those of the Greater Bay Area.   As the city is striving for early entry to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the Chief Executive thanked the Philippines for its support in Hong Kong’s bid for accession. http://dlvr.it/SplQyf

Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong will depart for a visit to Singapore tomorrow to renew bilateral ties between Hong Kong and Singapore on the innovation and technology (I&T) front and promote exchanges and collaboration on I&T between the two places.   During his stay in the city-state, he will call on senior government officials and meet government agencies including the Singapore Smart Nation & Digital Government Office and JTC Corporation to exchange experiences in building a smart government and driving digital transformation.   Part of the goal of Prof Sun's visit is to understand government support to research and development on scientific discovery and technological innovation, growth of industries and enterprise transformation.   Additionally, he will visit a local university and research facilities as well as give a thematic speech at a business luncheon with the Singaporean I&T community.   Prof Sun is scheduled to return

Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin today attended the Education World Forum in London in an effort to deliberate on future education policies together with education officials from different places.   In the morning, Ms Choi delivered a speech titled "Use of Technology in Education" at a keynote session of the forum, introducing the holistic approach of the Education Bureau to support schools and teachers in the application of technologies in teaching.   She said that Hong Kong is a small city with high information technology (IT) infrastructure penetration, which helps place it among the world's best in terms of digital competitiveness.   She added that the bureau is committed to enhancing the IT infrastructure and teaching resources for schools. Under the technology education curriculum, the bureau is working to promote coding and computational thinking to enhance students' creativity and problem-solving skills, as well as their ability to apply technology i

Financial Secretary Paul Chan today officiated at the opening ceremony of the second “Happy Hong Kong” Gourmet Marketplace together with Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak.   At the opening ceremony, Mr Chan said the Gourmet Marketplace allows people of different ages and backgrounds to gather happily for enjoying food. He thanked the Home Affairs Department, exhibitors and the community for their support in making the event a success.   Mr Chan also noted that Hong Kong’s economic performance in the first quarter of this year had improved from that in the last quarter and the same period last year.   Following the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland as well as overseas regions, coupled with the Government’s launch of consumption vouchers in mid-April, members of the public became more willing to spend and more travellers came to visit Hong Kong.   This had injected much impetus into the market and stimulated the retail and catering