Hong Kong recorded a 23.6 billion HK dollars (about 3 billion U.S. dollars) surplus in its Balance of Payments account in the third quarter, representing 4.8 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), said the authority on Thursday.

    According to figures released by the Census and Statistics Department, a current-account surplus of 33.7 billion HK dollars was recorded, with a net outflow of financial non-reserve assets amounting to 54.5 billion HK dollars.

    With imports of goods rising faster than exports, the visible trade deficit rose from 60.1 billion HK dollars in last year's third quarter to 99.9 billion HK dollars in this year's third quarter.

    The invisible trade surplus rose to 135.9 billion HK dollars, as exports of services increased faster than imports. Overall, a combined visible and invisible trade surplus of 36 billion HK dollars was recorded in the third quarter.

    For factor income flows, the external factor income inflow amounted to about 244.7 billion HK dollars while outflow stood at about 238.7 billion HK dollars, yielding a net inflow of 6.1 billion HK dollars in the third quarter. (One U.S. dollar is about 7.8 HK dollars.) 

(Source:Xinhua)