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     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (December 23) the preliminary Balance of Payments (BoP) and International Investment Position (IIP) statistics of Hong Kong for the third quarter of 2021. This release also included the preliminary External Debt (ED) statistics of Hong Kong for the same period.

I. Balance of Payments

     Hong Kong recorded a BoP surplus of $27.2 billion (3.7% of GDP) in the third quarter of 2021. Reserve assets correspondingly increased by the same amount. This was against a BoP deficit of $37.6 billion (5.5% of GDP) in the second quarter of 2021.

Current account

     The current account recorded a surplus of $96.7 billion (13.2% of GDP) in the third quarter of 2021. This implies that Hong Kong’s savings was greater than its investment, enabling Hong Kong to accumulate external financial assets (such as equity securities or debt securities) as a buffer against global financial volatilities. Compared with the current account surplus of $99.9 billion (14.4% of GDP) in the third quarter of 2020, the decrease in surplus was mainly due to a decrease in the goods surplus, partly offset by an increase in the net inflow of primary income and an increase in the services surplus.

     The goods surplus decreased to $4.2 billion in the third quarter of 2021, compared with $32.7 billion in the same quarter of 2020. Over the same period, the services surplus increased from $24.5 billion to $33.5 billion. The primary income inflow and outflow amounted to $446.8 billion and $383.0 billion respectively, thus yielding a net inflow of $63.8 billion in the third quarter of 2021, compared with a net inflow of $47.5 billion in the same quarter of 2020.

Financial account

     An overall net outflow of financial non-reserve assets amounting to $37.1 billion (5.1% of GDP) was recorded in the third quarter of 2021, compared with an overall net outflow of $125.3 billion (18.5% of GDP) in the second quarter of 2021. The overall net outflow recorded in the third quarter of 2021 was due to a net outflow of portfolio investment, partly offset by net inflows of other investment, direct investment and cash settlement of financial derivatives.

     In the third quarter of 2021, reserve assets increased by $27.2 billion, as against a decrease of $37.6 billion in the second quarter of 2021.

II. International Investment Position

     At the end of the third quarter of 2021, both Hong Kong’s external financial assets and liabilities stood at a very high level, amounting to $50,140.2 billion (17.7 times of GDP) and $33,501.2 billion (11.9 times of GDP) respectively, a typical feature of a prominent international financial centre.

     Hong Kong’s net external financial assets (i.e. assets minus liabilities) amounted to $16,639.0 billion (5.9 times of GDP) at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared with $17,708.4 billion (6.4 times of GDP) at the end of the second quarter of 2021. Hong Kong’s net external financial assets to GDP ratio is one of the largest in the world, which provides the economy with a strong cushion against sudden external shocks.

III. External Debt

     At the end of the third quarter of 2021, Hong Kong’s gross ED amounted to $14,619.1 billion (5.2 times of GDP). Compared with $14,232.8 billion (5.1 times of GDP) at the end of the second quarter of 2021, gross ED increased by $386.3 billion. This was mainly attributable to the increases in ED of the banking sector, debt liabilities in direct investment (intercompany lending) and ED of other sectors.

     As one of the world’s major financial centres, Hong Kong has a significant amount of ED held against the local banking sector arising through normal banking businesses. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 61.1% of Hong Kong’s ED was attributable to the banking sector. Other ED mainly consisted of ED of other sectors (23.6%) and debt liabilities in direct investment (intercompany lending) (15.1%).

Further information

     BoP is a statistical statement that systematically summarises, for a specific time period (typically a year or a quarter), the economic transactions of an economy with the rest of the world (i.e. between residents and non-residents).

     IIP is a balance sheet showing the stock of external financial assets and liabilities of an economy at a particular time point. The difference between the external financial assets and liabilities is the net IIP of the economy, which represents either its net claim on or net liability to the rest of the world.

     Gross ED, at a particular time point, is the outstanding amount of those actual current, and not contingent, liabilities that are owed to non-residents by residents of an economy and that require payment of principals and/or interests by the debtors at some time points in the future.

     Table 1 presents Hong Kong’s BoP. Table 2 presents the detailed current account, while Table 3 presents the detailed capital and financial account. Table 4 shows Hong Kong’s IIP, and Table 5 shows Hong Kong’s ED.

     Statistics on BoP, IIP and ED for the third quarter of 2021 are preliminary figures, which are subject to revision upon the availability of more data. With the incorporation of the latest data from surveys and other sources, the statistics on BoP, IIP and ED for 2020 have been revised.

     More details of the statistics of BoP (including seasonally adjusted current account), IIP and ED, together with the conceptual and methodological details, are presented in the publication Balance of Payments, International Investment Position and External Debt Statistics of Hong Kong, Third Quarter 2021 published by the C&SD. Users can download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1040001&scode=260).

     For enquiries about the BoP, IIP and ED statistics, please contact the Balance of Payments Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 6979; fax: 2116 0278; email: bop@censtatd.gov.hk). read more

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (December 23) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H… read more

     Hong Kong Customs today (December 23) arrested a male proprietor of a private detective agency who had made false claims in the sale of its people tracing service, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).

     Customs earlier received information alleging that a private detective agency in Tsim Sha Tsui failed to provide the relevant people tracing service after charging a customer a few thousand dollars’ service fee, and did not refund the customer as claimed.

     After investigation, Customs officers today arrested a 37-year-old man suspected to be connected to the case. 

     An investigation is ongoing and the arrested man has been released on bail pending further investigation.

     Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to procure services at reputable shops.

     Under the TDO, any trader who applies a false trade description to a service supplied to a consumer commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk). read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Thursday, December 23, 2021 is 101.2 (down 0.1 against yesterday’s index). read more

     The Tourism Commission (TC) announced today (December 23) that the Food Truck Pilot Scheme will end on June 1, 2022, after a comprehensive evaluation by the Government of its effectiveness.

     A TC spokesman said, “Positioned as a tourism promotion project, the two-year Scheme was launched on February 3, 2017. It aimed to add fun and vibrancy to Hong Kong’s tourist attractions by providing diverse, creative and high quality food options to tourists and locals. Since the commencement of the Scheme, the Government has been providing various forms of support to the operation of the food trucks. It has implemented a number of refinement and helping measures, including the introduction of new operating venues and rental concessions. The Scheme has also been extended twice till February 2, 2022. However, the business development of food trucks serving as a tourism promotion facility was not satisfactory. Their business was only better in the first year after commencement of the operation, but deteriorated continuously in the subsequent two years and fell to its lowest level in the first half of last year due to the double blow of the social unrest in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
     “The Scheme has been running for almost five years and the operation mode of the food trucks as a tourism promotion project has been fully tested. Its development has not been able to achieve the policy objective of tourism promotion. The Government finally decides to end the Scheme, but will extend it for about four months till June 1, 2022, to allow the operators sufficient time to make their corresponding arrangements,” the spokesman said.  

     Fifteen food trucks commenced operation when the Scheme was launched in 2017. Subsequently, some operators withdrew and new ones joined. Currently among the remaining 12 food trucks, only six have been maintaining relatively regular operations. As for the current 12 operating venues, only three have experienced relatively frequent food truck operations. read more