HK records $1.3 bln surplus in Q2 balance of payment account

Hong Kong recorded a surplus of 10.3 billion HK dollars (1.3 billion U.S. dollars) in its balance of payment account in the second quarter, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Monday.

The surplus was about equal to 2.5 percent of its gross domestic product and lower than the first quarter's 55 billion HK dollars.

Of the major balance of payments components there was a current account surplus of 34.4 billion HK dollars, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

Compared with the same quarter last year, the current account surplus in the second quarter of 2008 was characterized by an increase in visible trade deficit, a rise in invisible trade surplus, an increase in net inflow of external factor income, and a continued net outflow of current transfers. (7.8 HK dollars = 1 U.S. dollar)