Hong Kong is a superconnector that India can use to connect with other Asian markets, Sophia Chong

The Dollar Business Bureau

‘Hong Kong is a ‘superconnector’ that can provide Indian traders with a vibrant platform to do business,’ Sophia Chong, Assistant Executive Director of the trade promotion body, Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) declared on the sidelines of the ‘Food Expo & Hong Kong International Tea Fair 2017’, which hosted an Indian pavilion for the first time featuring 32 Indian food and four tea exhibitors. “Indian traders can not only use Hong Kong as a platform to connect with the local market but also with other Asian markets,” Sophia added.

Sophia said, India is one of the biggest trading partners of Hong Kong, and added that there is a big potential for the Indian market to further grow in the former British colony whose status has now changed as the Special Administrative Region of China.

Hong Kong’s trade with India has seen a good increase of 40% in the H1 of 2017 at $18.3 billion, the highest growth rate that overtook Hong Kong’s trade with its top 30 partner countries, considered financial hubs, which included US and China.

“The value of bilateral trade reached around USD 18.3 billion in first half of 2017, an increase of 40 per cent year-on-year, the highest growth among our top 30 partner countries in the same period,” Sophia told the Press Trust of India.

India’s total trade with Hong Kong stood at $26.85 billion last year. Hong Kong’s other trading partners excluding US and China include, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore.

Compared to India China registered a growth of 8% of trade with Hong Kong in H1 (January to June) of 2017 at $242.33 billion while with US it posted a 2.8% increase in growth at $32.68 billion in the same period, according to HKTDC.

According to HKTDC data shared by the PTI, India and Hong Kong shared the following trade data:

India was Hong Kong’s third-largest export market after China and the US with total exports expanding 47.6% year-on-year to around $10.6 billion.

Major export items included pearls, precious and semi-precious stones at $5.1 billion and telecommunications equipment & parts at $ 2.9 billion, the data said.

India was Hong Kong’s sixth-largest trading partner in the first half of 2017, up from seventh-largest in 2016 after China, the US, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore.

India was Hong Kong’s seventh-largest source of imports in first half of 2017, with the value amounting to USD 7.8 billion at a significant growth of 30.7 per cent year-on-year.

Of Hong Kong’s food and beverage imports from India in 2016, meat recorded the highest percentage growth, surging 240% to $12.5 million, from $3.7 million in 2015, the data provided by the HKTDC said.

In 2016, Hong Kong imported $126 million of food and beverages from India. Among different food categories, seafood accounted for 55% of total imports, followed by coffee, tea, cocoa and spices at 13% and vegetables and fruit at 12%, the trade body said.

Calling Hong Kong a very good medium to import and re-export, Sophia said of the $126 million of food and beverage products imported from India last year, 14% worth $18 million were re-exported to other Asian countries.