HK's Export Decline Widens

Hong Kong's trade performance has slumped further, with the value of total exports sliding 14.3 percent year-on-year.

The figures from August, published on Monday, marked a fourth straight month of decline and outpaced the drop of nearly nine percent in July.

Exports to major economies plunged, plummeting 54 percent to the UK, almost 25 percent to Japan and off 20 percent to the mainland.

Imports, meanwhile, fell by 16.3 percent over a year earlier.

"The value of merchandise exports saw a widened decline from a year earlier in August 2022 amid the worsened external environment and continued disruptions to cross-boundary land transportation," said a government spokesman.

It warned that the export sector will continue to face "immense pressure" as high inflation and aggressive interest rate hikes in major advanced economies dampen global demand.