Hong Kong’s position as one of the world’s most important economic centers is based on several factors.
It is located midway between Japan and Singapore, and it lies astride the main shipping and air routes of the western Pacific.
It also has long served as a major port of entry and trade for China, which uses Hong Kong as a primary link to the world economy.
Furthermore, Hong Kong has a favorable atmosphere for business and trade.
Despite the uncertainty associated with its return to China, which has a Communist government, Hong Kong continues to thrive economically and attract new migrants.
Hong Kong’s economy has always been based upon commerce, trade, and shipping, and today it vies with Singapore as the world’s largest container port.
Industry and tourism are also important, and agriculture continues to provide a significant share of the territory’s food and flower supplies, although Hong Kong must import the majority of its food.
Farming is a declining sector, because of the shortage of suitable farmland. There are now less than 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) under cultivation for vegetables and flowers, although these produce about one-quarter of the fresh vegetables consumed.
Increasingly, farmers are growing premium food and flower varieties, which fetch higher market prices than the traditional rice crop. Pig farming is also important.
Hong Kong’s fishing fleet is significant and contributes about two-thirds of the live and fresh marine fish consumed each year.
Manufacturing developed rapidly in the 1950s and grew to become the most important economic sector in the early 1980s, when manufacturing employment reached nearly 905,000.
Hong Kong was a leading producer of textiles, plastics, rattan furniture, watches, and clocks. Manufacturing thereafter declined rapidly, however, as the economy of Hong Kong underwent major structural change.
Manufacturers began shifting the location of their production facilities to neighboring Guangdong Province and other locations in China, where labor and land costs were much lower.
By the early 1990s industrial employment had declined to less than 575,000, and by 2005 it was about 185,000. However, the relocation of labor-intensive manufacturing to mainland China has been partially offset by the fact that many of the relocated businesses have continued to conduct export operations in Hong Kong.
In addition, Hong Kong now manufactures goods that require a more highly educated and skilled labor force, such as electrical and electronic products.
Most importantly, the services sector has experienced rapid growth, especially in finance, insurance, real estate, and business services, giving Hong Kong the sophistication of a metropolitan economy.
Hong Kong is among the leading trading centers in the world, and shipping and trade continue to be important aspects of its economy.
The market is generally open and favorable to trade, and Hong Kong has been successful at balancing its imports and exports.
Many of its exports are actually re-exports, products that are manufactured in other parts of China or other countries but distributed through Hong Kong. These products include clothing, textiles, telecommunications and recording equipment, electrical machinery and appliances, and footwear.
Imports consist largely of consumer goods, raw materials, transportation equipment, and foodstuffs. Extensive trade occurs with other regions of China.
In addition, Hong Kong’s leading international trading partners are the United States and Japan.
The unit of currency is the Hong Kong dollar (7.79 Hong Kong dollars equal U.S.$1; 2004 ).
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority performs the functions of a central bank and authorizes three commercial banks—the Bank of China, HSBC (formerly the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation), and the Standard Chartered Bank—to issue Hong Kong dollars.
The terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 allow Hong Kong to continue issuing its own currency until the year 2047.
Tourism is one of Hong Kong’s most important service activities and it is the third largest source of foreign exchange earnings.
Tourism dollars injected more than $7 billion into the Hong Kong economy each year of the early 1990s, when nearly 9 million tourists visited annually.
In 2004, 13.7 million tourists visited Hong Kong. Most visitors came from Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and other locations in East and Southeast Asia. Many European and North American tourists also visited.
In addition to its excellent deepwater port and extensive maritime connections, Hong Kong has one of Asia’s main airports, the Hong Kong International Airport.
Located on the islet of Chek Lap Kok off Lantau Island, the airport opened in 1998, replacing the old Kai Tak International Airport. There is passenger and freight rail service to Guangzhou.
Hong Kong has an extensive network of roads in the New Territories, in Kowloon, and on Hong Kong Island. This network is supplemented by the Mass Transit Railway (MTR), which connects Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories.
A 33-km (21-mi) electric trolley line operates on Hong Kong Island, and ferries shuttle between the mainland, Hong Kong Island, and all other major outlying islands.
It is located midway between Japan and Singapore, and it lies astride the main shipping and air routes of the western Pacific.
It also has long served as a major port of entry and trade for China, which uses Hong Kong as a primary link to the world economy.
Furthermore, Hong Kong has a favorable atmosphere for business and trade.
Despite the uncertainty associated with its return to China, which has a Communist government, Hong Kong continues to thrive economically and attract new migrants.
Hong Kong’s economy has always been based upon commerce, trade, and shipping, and today it vies with Singapore as the world’s largest container port.
Industry and tourism are also important, and agriculture continues to provide a significant share of the territory’s food and flower supplies, although Hong Kong must import the majority of its food.
Farming is a declining sector, because of the shortage of suitable farmland. There are now less than 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) under cultivation for vegetables and flowers, although these produce about one-quarter of the fresh vegetables consumed.
Increasingly, farmers are growing premium food and flower varieties, which fetch higher market prices than the traditional rice crop. Pig farming is also important.
Hong Kong’s fishing fleet is significant and contributes about two-thirds of the live and fresh marine fish consumed each year.
Manufacturing developed rapidly in the 1950s and grew to become the most important economic sector in the early 1980s, when manufacturing employment reached nearly 905,000.
Hong Kong was a leading producer of textiles, plastics, rattan furniture, watches, and clocks. Manufacturing thereafter declined rapidly, however, as the economy of Hong Kong underwent major structural change.
Manufacturers began shifting the location of their production facilities to neighboring Guangdong Province and other locations in China, where labor and land costs were much lower.
By the early 1990s industrial employment had declined to less than 575,000, and by 2005 it was about 185,000. However, the relocation of labor-intensive manufacturing to mainland China has been partially offset by the fact that many of the relocated businesses have continued to conduct export operations in Hong Kong.
In addition, Hong Kong now manufactures goods that require a more highly educated and skilled labor force, such as electrical and electronic products.
Most importantly, the services sector has experienced rapid growth, especially in finance, insurance, real estate, and business services, giving Hong Kong the sophistication of a metropolitan economy.
Hong Kong is among the leading trading centers in the world, and shipping and trade continue to be important aspects of its economy.
The market is generally open and favorable to trade, and Hong Kong has been successful at balancing its imports and exports.
Many of its exports are actually re-exports, products that are manufactured in other parts of China or other countries but distributed through Hong Kong. These products include clothing, textiles, telecommunications and recording equipment, electrical machinery and appliances, and footwear.
Imports consist largely of consumer goods, raw materials, transportation equipment, and foodstuffs. Extensive trade occurs with other regions of China.
In addition, Hong Kong’s leading international trading partners are the United States and Japan.
The unit of currency is the Hong Kong dollar (7.79 Hong Kong dollars equal U.S.$1; 2004 ).
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority performs the functions of a central bank and authorizes three commercial banks—the Bank of China, HSBC (formerly the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation), and the Standard Chartered Bank—to issue Hong Kong dollars.
The terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 allow Hong Kong to continue issuing its own currency until the year 2047.
Tourism is one of Hong Kong’s most important service activities and it is the third largest source of foreign exchange earnings.
Tourism dollars injected more than $7 billion into the Hong Kong economy each year of the early 1990s, when nearly 9 million tourists visited annually.
In 2004, 13.7 million tourists visited Hong Kong. Most visitors came from Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and other locations in East and Southeast Asia. Many European and North American tourists also visited.
In addition to its excellent deepwater port and extensive maritime connections, Hong Kong has one of Asia’s main airports, the Hong Kong International Airport.
Located on the islet of Chek Lap Kok off Lantau Island, the airport opened in 1998, replacing the old Kai Tak International Airport. There is passenger and freight rail service to Guangzhou.
Hong Kong has an extensive network of roads in the New Territories, in Kowloon, and on Hong Kong Island. This network is supplemented by the Mass Transit Railway (MTR), which connects Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories.
A 33-km (21-mi) electric trolley line operates on Hong Kong Island, and ferries shuttle between the mainland, Hong Kong Island, and all other major outlying islands.
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