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Feb exports value down 0.8%

The value of Hong Kong’s total exports decreased to $284.1 billion in February, down 0.8% on the same month last year, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.   The value of imports of goods fell 1.8% to $325.7 billion for the same period.   A trade deficit of $41.7 billion, or 12.8% of the value of imports, was recorded in February.   Comparing the three-month period ending February with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of exports rose 5.5%, while that of imports also increased 3.3%.   The Government noted that taking the first two months of the year together to remove the volatility caused by the difference in timing of the Lunar New Year, the value of exports posted a 16.6% growth against a very low base of comparison a year ago.   Exports to the Mainland and the US rose notably, while those to the European Union fell. Those to other major Asian markets recorded a mixed performance.   Looking ahead, the Gove

Mainland support is still strong: CE

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)   Chief Executive Carrie Lam said today support from Mainland is still very strong despite the difficulties and the emergency situation that they are now facing.   At a press conference this morning, Mrs Lam said the Central People's Government has been extremely understanding and supportive of Hong Kong.   She said: “With the COVID-19 clusters now being seen very close to Hong Kong, that is in our neighbouring city of Shenzhen, one would expect that Shenzhen could easily close the border - that no Hong Kong passengers could cross the border into Shenzhen, in order to cut the transmission. But Shenzhen has not taken this act.   “And I believe the Central People's Government also does not want to see this happen. So, we still have a certain degree of people flow from Hong Kong into Shenzhen.”   As for Shenzhen imposing more stringent pre-arrival tests of polymerase chain reaction within 24 hours instead of 48 hours, Mrs Lam said it is a very legitimate response of the city government due to the public health considerations.   She said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will fully co-operate and support Shenzhen in taking legitimate measures.   Mrs Lam also said that she was assured on supplies coming in from the Mainland.   “The Central People's Government, the Guangdong Provincial Government, and the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government officials have all told me and assured me that they would try very hard to ensure the smooth arrival of cargo, especially fresh produce and vegetables that will support the people of Hong Kong.   “But we need to find alternative measures. So instead of just relying on 8,000 cross-border truck drivers, transporting the goods on a daily basis, we now have cargo coming in by sea. We now have cargo coming in by train. So, this is to illustrate to you that this is a very strong support from my Mainland counterparts, despite the difficulties or the emergency situation that they are now facing.   “So we will continue to co-operate fully with the Mainland authorities to take the necessary measures to protect the safety and health of people on both sides because we belong to one country and we are compatriots. And we would love to see both sides of the border coming out of this epidemic as soon as possible.”
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