External trade surges 27.4% in February but momentum eases across key markets

Imports and exports gre whilst industrial leasing sees rare expansion deal in Yuen Long.

Hong Kong’s external trade rose 27.4% year on year (YoY) in February, based on Hong Kong government trade statistics as cited in JLL’s Hong Kong Monthly Market Dynamics report.

Imports increased 29.9% whilst total exports grew 24.7%, however, growth slowed across several key trading partners compared to January.

Its trade value with Mainland China slowed to 24.6% from 43.2% in the previous month. Growth with Vietnam eased to 45.8% from 76.0%, whilst Singapore slowed to 23.0% from 40.8%. In contrast, trade with Malaysia, India and South Korea strengthened over the same period.

In the industrial leasing market, Mapei China, a chemical products manufacturer for the construction sector, leased 70,000 square feet (sq ft) at Jing Hin Godown in Yuen Long under a lease expiring in 2031.

The company relocated from its previous facility at 4–6 Tsing Tim Street in Tsing Yi following a change in ownership of the site resulting in an expansion of around 50,000 sq ft.

In industrial sales, Aubu Ltd, linked to local health product brand Wright Life, acquired a unit at TML Tower for $58.0m, or $4,500 per sq ft (psf).

The unit was previously purchased in 2017 for $78.3m, or $6,080 psf, reflecting a decline of about 26% over the holding period.

Separately, China Mobile commissioned its Global Intelligence Center in Sha Tin.

The 0.9-million-sq-ft facility is designed to support large-scale AI training and inference workloads and is connected to China Mobile’s data centres across the Greater Bay Area, as well as international submarine cable systems and cross-border terrestrial networks.