HK export confidence slightly rebounds

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

HONG KONG, March 18 (Chinese media) -- Confidence in Hong Kong's trade sector has

improved but is still weak, according to the latest HKTDC Export Confidence

Index released on Wednesday by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).

The quarterly-released index, which reflects the business sentiment of

local exporters, stood at 25.8 in the first quarter of this year, compared with

22.3 in the fourth quarter of 2008.

This is still very downbeat as any reading below 50 signifies exporters are

pessimistic about the outlook, said the council in a statement.

"Although export confidence in the first quarter improved slightly, the

general economic outlook remains difficult," said HKTDC Chief Economist Edward

Leung.

However, export confidence improved in all major markets, with the Chinese

mainland at 45.5, continuing to lead the pack.

"Among all the markets, HK exporters are most confident toward the Chinese

mainland, as they believe the Chinese government is more capable of dealing with

the financial crisis than any other countries and China is likely to be the very

first country recovering from the economic downturn," Leung said.

What's more, all industries showed a rebound in confidence, with the index

for timepieces seeing the biggest rise from 17.5 to 28.5.

The index reading is based on a survey of 500 Hong Kong companies that

source, produce and sell, according to the HKTDC.