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Hong Kong’s exports rose by 16 per cent in September compared with last year, driven by significantly growing demand from Asian markets such as Vietnam and Malaysia, amid continuing uncertainties due to United States’ trade policies. The value of the city’s exports for September reached HK$462.3 billion (US$59.5 billion), pushing the third quarter total to HK$1.35 trillion, a 15 per cent increase from the same quarter last year, according to the Census and Statistics Department. The 16.1 per cent rise in September also marked the strongest year-on-year growth since March, when total exports reached HK$455.53 billion, and an increase of 18.5 per cent compared with the same month last year. In September, imports grew by 13.6 per cent to HK$512 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of HK$50.2 billion. A government spokesman said exports to mainland China and most other Asian markets saw robust growth, and shipments to the United States and the European Union also grew moderately. “Looking ahead, Hong Kong’s merchandise trade performance should continue to be underpinned by the sustained expansion in the global economy,” he said. “The government’s ongoing endeavour in enhancing economic and trade ties with different markets also helps.” But he added that the United States’ trade policy would continue to cast uncertainties on the near-term outlook of international trade flows, while the government would keep monitoring the situation closely. The total exports to Asia as a whole grew by 18.3 per cent in September compared with last year. This growth was particularly strong in Southeast Asia, with exports to Vietnam logging a 50.9 per cent rise and those to Malaysia increasing by 40 per cent. “As a re-export hub, Hong Kong rode the trend of increasing trade as China’s export growth picked up pace in September,” said Terence Chong Tai-leung, executive director of the Lau Chor Tak Institute of Global Economics and Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “From the values divided by countries and territories, it reflects that we are switching from the United States market to Asia and Europe.” China’s export growth expanded 8.3 per cent in September from a year earlier to US$328.6 billion, while imports grew to a 17-month high of 7.4 per cent. Chong added that as more Chinese companies expanded their operations overseas into Southeast Asia, there was a corresponding growing need for raw materials coming from the mainland into those countries.
