shield

:Hong Kong Economy

Overview:
Hong Kong has a bustling free market economy with few tariffs or nontariff
barriers. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be
imported. Manufacturing accounts for about 18% of GDP, employs 28% of the
labor force, and exports about 90% of its output. Real GDP growth averaged a
remarkable 8% in 1987-88, then slowed to 2.5-3.0% in 1989-90. Unemployment,
which has been declining since the mid-1980s, is now about 2%. A shortage of
labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of living.
Short-term prospects remain solid so long as major trading partners continue
to be reasonably prosperous. The crackdown in China in 1989-91 casts a
shadow over the longer term economic outlook.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $80.9 billion, per capita $13,800; real growth
rate 3.8% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
12.0% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
2.0% (1991 est.)
Budget:
$8.8 billion (FY90)
Exports:
$82.0 billion (f.o.b., 1990), including reexports of $53.1 billion
commodities:
clothing, textiles, yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances,
watches and clocks, toys
partners:
China 25%, US 24%, Germany 7%, Japan 6%, UK 2%, (1990)
Imports:
$82.4 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
commodities:
foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum
partners:
China 37%, Japan 16%, Taiwan 9%, US 8% (1990)
External debt:
$9.5 billion (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 4% 1991 (est)
Electricity:
8,600,000 kW capacity; 25,637 million kWh produced, 4,378 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks
Agriculture:
minor role in the economy; rice, vegetables, dairy products; less than 20%
self-sufficient; shortages of rice, wheat, water
Illicit drugs:
a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and major financial
and money-laundering center
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $152 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $923 million
Currency:
Hong Kong dollar (plural - dollars); 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$ - 7.800 (1991), 7.790 (1990), 7.800 (1989),
7.810 (1988),