Tag Archives: China

The following is issued on behalf of the Executive Council Secretariat:
 
     The Non-official Members of the Executive Council (ExCo) today (September 15) issued the following statement:
 
     The Universal Community Testing Programme (UCTP) concluded on September 14 and a total of about 1 780 000 persons had been tested. The ExCo Non-official Members gladly noted that the UCTP was well received by the public and commended the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government for successfully launching this large-scale programme within a short time frame. Members were of the view that the UCTP was able to help identify asymptomatic patients, and thereby sever the virus transmission chain at the earliest possible juncture and curb the epidemic.
 
     The ExCo Non-official Members said that the smooth implementation of the UCTP was made possible thanks to the staunch support from different sectors of the community, including members of the public who spared the time to take the test as well as the healthcare personnel and working staff who assisted in specimen collection at testing centres.
 
     Moreover, the ExCo Non-official Members would like to thank the Central Government for its positive response to the request of the HKSAR Government by establishing speedily a support team and providing the necessary equipment and resources. The hard work of members of the support team in completing their tasks had enabled the HKSAR Government to launch the large-scale UCTP so as to cope with the serious epidemic situation.
 
     Although the current epidemic situation of Hong Kong has eased, there is no room for letting down one’s guard. The ExCo Non-official Members appeal to different sectors of the community to remain vigilant and continue to fight the epidemic together. read more

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) published today (September 15) the September 2020 issue of the “Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics” (HKMDS).

     Apart from providing up-to-date statistics, this issue also contains two feature articles entitled “Hong Kong’s Imports Measured on Free-on-board Basis for 2019” and “The Profile of Hong Kong Population Analysed by District Council District, 2019”.

“Hong Kong’s Imports Measured on Free-on-board Basis for 2019”

     In accordance with international statistical standards, the import statistics of Hong Kong are valued on cost, insurance and freight (c.i.f.) basis. Yet, import statistics valued on free on board (f.o.b.) basis are also useful for certain analytical purposes.

     Since 1996, the C&SD has been compiling an additional set of import statistics measured on f.o.b. basis to facilitate analysis on merchandise trade balance and comparison of trade statistics with other economies.

     This feature article introduces the concept and application of imports statistics measured on f.o.b. basis, and analyses the related statistics for 2019.

     For enquiries about this feature article, please contact the Trade Surveys Section, the C&SD (Tel: 2582 5255; email: ims@censtatd.gov.hk).

“The Profile of Hong Kong Population Analysed by District Council District, 2019”

     The C&SD annually compiles statistics on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population by District Council district based on data collected from the General Household Survey. This feature article provides an analysis on the profile of the population of Hong Kong for various District Council districts in 2019.

     For enquiries about this feature article, please contact the Household Statistics Analysis Section, the C&SD (Tel: 2887 5208; email: ghs@censtatd.gov.hk).

     Published in bilingual form, the HKMDS is a compact volume of official statistics containing about 140 tables. It collects up-to-date statistical series on various aspects of the social and economic situation of Hong Kong. Topics include population; labour; external trade; National Income and Balance of Payments; prices; business performance; energy; housing and property; government accounts, finance and insurance; and transport, communications and tourism. For selected key statistical items, over 20 charts depicting the annual trend in the past decade and quarterly or monthly trend in the recent two years are also available. Users can download the Digest free of charge at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp460.jsp?productCode=B1010002).

     Enquiries about the contents of the Digest can be directed to the Statistical Information Dissemination Section (1) of the C&SD (Tel: 2582 4738; email: gen-enquiry@censtatd.gov.hk). read more

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (September 15) the preliminary statistics on Hong Kong’s Gross National Income (GNI) and related figures for the second quarter of 2020.
 
     Hong Kong’s GNI, which denotes the total income earned by Hong Kong residents from engaging in various economic activities, decreased by 7.5% in the second quarter of 2020 from a year earlier to $698.7 billion at current market prices. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), estimated at $637.9 billion at current market prices in the same quarter, recorded a 8.1% decrease over the same period. The value of GNI was larger than GDP by $60.8 billion in the second quarter of 2020, which was equivalent to 9.5% of GDP in that quarter, mainly attributable to a net inflow of investment income.
 
     After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, Hong Kong’s GNI decreased by 8.2% in real terms in the second quarter of 2020 from a year earlier. The corresponding GDP in the same quarter decreased by 9.0% in real terms.
 
     Hong Kong’s total inflow of primary income, which mainly comprises investment income, estimated at $442.4 billion in the second quarter of 2020 and equivalent to 69.4% of GDP in that quarter, recorded a decrease of 7.5% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, total primary income outflow, estimated at $381.6 billion in the second quarter of 2020 and equivalent to 59.8% of GDP in that quarter, decreased by 8.5% from a year earlier.
 
     As for the major components of investment income inflow, direct investment income (DII) decreased by 3.5% from a year earlier, mainly due to the decrease in earnings of some prominent local enterprises from their direct investment abroad. Portfolio investment income (PII) recorded a decrease of 4.7% from a year earlier, mainly attributable to the decrease in interest income received by resident investors from their holdings of non-resident debt securities.
 
     Regarding the major components of investment income outflow, DII decreased by 6.1% from a year earlier, mainly due to the decrease in earnings of some prominent multinational enterprises from their direct investment in Hong Kong. PII decreased by 3.5%, mainly attributable to the decrease in dividend payout to non-resident investors from their holdings of resident equity securities.
 
        Analysed by country/territory, the mainland of China continued to be the largest source of Hong Kong’s total primary income inflow in the second quarter of 2020, accounting for 39.6%. This was followed by the Cayman Islands, with a share of 17.7%. Regarding total primary income outflow, the mainland of China and the British Virgin Islands remained the most important destinations in the second quarter of 2020, accounting for 26.2% and 22.2% respectively.
 
Further Information
 
     GDP and GNI are closely related indicators for measuring economic performance. GDP is a measure of the total value of production of all resident producing units of an economy. GNI denotes the total income earned by residents of an economy from engaging in various economic activities, irrespective of whether the economic activities are carried out within the economic territory of the economy or outside. 
 
     Figures of GNI and primary income flows analysed by income component from the third quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2020 are presented in Table A, while selected major country/territory breakdowns of primary income inflow and outflow for the same quarters are presented in Tables B(1) and B(2) respectively.
 
     Statistics on GDP and GNI from 2018 onwards and primary income flows from 2019 onwards are subject to revision when more data become available.
 
     Enquiries about GNI and related statistics may be directed to the Balance of Payments Branch (2) of the C&SD at 3903 7054. read more

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) announced today (September 15) the schedule of regular press releases on statistical data in 2021 at Annex (PDF format). The schedule, which covers 131 items, has been uploaded on the C&SD’s website (www.censtatd.gov.hk/press_release/index.jsp) to facilitate access by the public. 
 
     The information sheet entitled “Census and Statistics Department – Schedule of Regular Press Releases on Statistical Data in 2021” has also been released via the C&SD’s website. Presenting the date schedule by data category, this information sheet serves as a handy reference on the issue dates of the regular press releases of individual subject areas in 2021.
 
     “We have been making continuous efforts to shorten the time lag in releasing statistics. At present, we are able to release most monthly statistics within one month and all quarterly statistics within three months after the reference period,” a spokesman for the C&SD said.
              
     The press releases listed on the schedule will be issued via the Information Services Department at 4.30pm on the release day. They will also be posted on the C&SD’s website (www.censtatd.gov.hk/press_release/index.jsp) shortly afterwards.
 
     “We will adhere to the pre-announced schedule for issuing these regular press releases. Only under exceptional circumstances such as those arising from unexpected adverse weather conditions would the releases be postponed. In such events, an announcement will be made via the Information Services Department regarding the special circumstances and the revised date for issuing the press release concerned,” the spokesman added.
 
     In addition to these regular press releases, press releases on other statistical data (e.g. results of ad hoc surveys) are also issued by the C&SD from time to time.
 
     All press releases issued by the C&SD in recent years are posted on its website for reference by the general public.
 
     Enquiries on the schedule can be directed to the C&SD at telephone number 2582 4958. read more

     The Census and Statistics Department announced today (September 15) that it has commenced a new round of the Quarterly Survey of Employment and Vacancies to collect data on employment and vacancies in major industry sections of the … read more