Hong Kong's Gross National Product in the second quarter of 2003 was estimated at HK$289.3 billion (US$37.08 billion) at current market prices, down 6.2 percent from a year earlier, the government said yesterday.

According to a press release issued by the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the SAR's Gross Domestic Product was estimated at HK$287.8 billion at current market prices for the quarter, recording a broadly similar decrease, by 6 percent.

Netting out the effect of price changes, Hong Kong's GNP decreased by 0.6 percent in real terms in the second quarter from a year ago, as compared to a 0.5 percent drop in real terms in GDP during the same period last year.

Total factor income inflow into the special administrative region, estimated at HK$75.7 billion in the second quarter and equivalent to 26.3 percent of GDP in the period, dipped by 3 percent from a year ago.

Within the total factor income inflow, direct investment income inflow decreased slightly by 0.7 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, mainly due to de-creased earnings of some prominent local enterprises from investment abroad.

However, the portfolio investment income inflow increased by 10.4 percent, mainly attributable to increased dividend receipts from holding of non-resident equity securities during the period.

The Chinese mainland continued to be the largest source of Hong Kong's external factor income inflow in the second quarter, accounting for 30.8 percent of the total inflow during the period.

A Government Secretariat spokesman noted that both external factor income inflow and outflow continued to drop in the period from a year earlier, caused by further fall-off in interest income into and out of Hong Kong amidst a global low interest rate environment.

As the decreases in overall external factor income inflow and outflow were of broadly comparable magnitude, the year-on-year decline in real terms in GNP in the second quarter was broadly similar to that in GDP.

The spokesman further noted that both external factor income inflow and outflow remained sizable in the second quarter, each corresponding to more than 25 percent of Hong Kong's GDP.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Business News
+The next great leap after Shenzhou V ( 2003-10-21) +Hu calls for balanced development ( 2003-10-21) +Report: SARS not airborne virus ( 2003-10-21) +Japan urged to resolve weapons issue ( 2003-10-21) +Int'l AIDS group opens Beijing office ( 2003-10-21)		+Home-appliance giants want wheels ( 2003-10-21) +Exchange-rate reform under study ( 2003-10-21) +Health insurance sector called for ( 2003-10-21) +SanDisk teams up to open outlets ( 2003-10-21) +Housing prices start to sag in Shanghai ( 2003-10-21)