In November 2003, the value of Hong Kong's total export of goods (comprising re-exports and domestic exports) increased by 9.0 percent over a year earlier to 153.8 billion HK dollars (19.84 billion US dollars), after a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent in October.

According to a press release of Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department Monday, within this total, the value of re-exports increased by 10.0 percent to 144 billion HK dollars (18.58billion US dollars) in November, but the value of domestic exports fell by 3.0 percent to 9.8 billion HK dollars (1.26 billion US dollars).

Concurrently, the value of import of goods rose by 13.8 percent over a year earlier to 161.8 billion HK dollars (20.87 US dollars)in November 2003, after a year-on-year increase of 10.2 percent in October.

For the first eleven months of 2003 as a whole, the value of total export of goods rose markedly, by 11.3 percent over the same period in 2002.

A government Secretariat spokesman noted that merchandise exports continued to grow distinctly in November 2003, with the growth pace broadly similar to that in October.

He said exports to East Asia as a whole remained robust in November, marked by double-digit increases in Chinese mainland, China's Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand.

Concurrently, exports to the European Union picked up to an appreciable growth. Yet exports to the United States were still relatively weak.

The spokesman further noted that retained imports showed an accelerated increase in November 2003, signifying a further improvement in domestic demand.

Editor: Wing