Trade With Hk Set To Rise: Iob

Despite a 12 per cent drop during the first quarter, trade between India and Hong Kong, worth $3 billion, is expected to improve during the second half of calendar year 1998, according to a survey conducted by the Trade Information Desk of the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Hong Kong.

About 50 per cent of traders surveyed felt the outlook for trade between the two countries for the second half of 1998 was satisfactory. On the outlook for 1999, 59 per cent and 62 per cent of the respondents felt that trade would be satisfactory during the first half and second half of the year, respectively. About 63 per cent of the respondents had satisfactory exports to India during the first half of the current year, while 46 per cent declared satisfactory imports from India.

The fall in prices, more than a drop in volumes is the reason for the recent slump in trade between the two countries, according to analysts. Hard-nosed bargaining by buyers in the wake of the currency crash in the Asian economies has hammered down prices of Indian goods, an IOB release said.

The survey covered 50 big, medium and small companies in Hong Kong engaged in export, re-export and import between the two countries.

Hong Kong is India's fourth largest trading partner, while India ranks 18 in Hong Kong's list of trade partners. Most traders in Hong Kong felt that the prospects for export and re-export of electronic machinery, office machines, computers and parts, audio and video recorders and players, and textiles was good or satisfactory.

Similarly, most Hong Kong traders expected import of cotton textiles, textile yarn and textile fibres to be good. Import of steel products, pearl and semi-precious stones were also expected to do well.