HK's gross national income rises by 4.2% YoY to $899.6b in Q3 2024

Mainland China contributed 40.3% of its primary income inflows.

Hong Kong’s gross national income (GNI) rose by 4.2% year-on-year (YoY) in the third quarter to $899.6b, whilst the gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $812.3b, up by 6.1% YoY, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

The GNI exceeded the GDP by $87.2b, equivalent to 10.7% of GDP, primarily due to a net inflow of investment income. After accounting for price changes, GNI grew by 1.9% in real terms, whilst GDP increased by 1.8% during the same period.

The total inflow of primary income, largely comprising investment income, surged 10.3% YoY to $616.1b, representing 75.8% of GDP. Concurrently, the total outflow of primary income increased by 14.7% YoY to $528.9b, equivalent to 65.1% of GDP.

Direct investment income (DII) rose by 13.5%, driven by increased earnings from the overseas direct investment activities of local enterprises. Portfolio investment income (PII) saw an 8.4% YoY increase due to higher interest income earned by resident investors from their non-resident debt securities.

DII outflows increased by 17.4%, mainly due to higher earnings of multinational enterprises from their direct investments in Hong Kong. PII outflows rose by 11.1%, spurred by increased dividend payouts to non-resident investors holding resident equity securities.

Mainland China continued to dominate as the largest source of Hong Kong’s primary income inflows, contributing 40.3%, followed by the British Virgin Islands (BVI) at 16.5%. For outflows, Mainland China accounted for 33.2%, with BVI contributing 20%, the department said.