Hong Kong’s offshore trade surges 65%

Time to pop the champagne.

The latest edition of the "Offshore Trade Survey" from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council shows that offshore trade as a share of Hong Kong's overall commercial activity stood at less than 19% in 1988.

HKTDC Director of Research Nicholas Kwan said there have been substantial changes in the way Hong Kong's export companies operate over the last two decades.

"Many Hong Kong trading companies have set up factories on the Chinese mainland and are exporting their products directly overseas without going through Hong Kong," said Kwan. "Such exports are not included in Hong Kong's export data.

He noted that some local manufacturers are producing goods on the mainland for domestic sales, and that all these offshore trade activities play a decisive role in Hong Kong's economy.

The survey reveals that offshore trade accounts for over 70% of Hong Kong exports in clothing/textiles, gifts/ornaments/imitation jewelry, toys and household items/lightings.

HKTDC said the Export Index for the second quarter rose 3.9 points to 53.4, a two-year high. In addition, the index had broken through the watershed mark of 50, returning to expansionary territory.

The second-quarter purchase index jumped 10 points, to 65.8 year-on-year, underlining the optimistic mood in purchasing.