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Jess Ma

Wynna Wong

Hong Kong exports surged by 50.7 per cent year on year in July, driven by “impressive growth” in AI-related electronic products, with the government expecting the robust demand to continue supporting trade development despite geopolitical risks.
Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday showed that the value of exports jumped to a record HK$672.5 billion (US$86.2 billion) last month after a 53.4 per cent rise in June.
A government spokesman attributed July’s strong performance to growth in electronics related to artificial intelligence (AI) and a visible increase in exports to most major markets.
“The value of merchandise exports grew by 50.7 per cent over a year earlier, with exports of AI-related electronic products again registering particularly impressive growth,” he said.
July’s growth rate was the city’s fourth-highest level in recent decades, only surpassed by 53.4 per cent in June this year, as well as 61.6 per cent and 65.1 per cent in March and January 1984, respectively.
The spokesman said global demand for AI-related electronic products was expected to continue to bolster the city’s exports, but warned of geopolitical risks in the Middle East and rising trade protectionism in some advanced economies.
Imports rose by 41 per cent year on year to HK$677.4 billion last month. The city still recorded a trade deficit of HK$4.9 billion, equivalent to 0.7 per cent of import value.


In July, total exports to Asia grew by 54.6 per cent, with notable increases to most major destinations, in particular, a 95.7 per cent rise to Taiwan, 77.7 per cent to Vietnam and 63.1 per cent to Thailand.
Exports to the United States rose by 92.9 per cent.
Two goods categories also recorded the largest increases in values for both total exports and imports – electrical machinery or parts, and office machines and automatic data processing machines.
Electrical hardware exports increased by 54 per cent year on year to HK$121.6 billion, while office and data processing machine exports surged by 106.5 per cent to HK$54.3 billion.
Meanwhile, imports of electrical hardware were valued at HK$104 billion, a 47.1 per cent year-on-year increase, and office and data processing machine imports climbed by 78.9 per cent to HK$33.9 billion.
Gary Ng Cheuk-yan, senior economist for Asia-Pacific at Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank, said July’s export and import figures fell within expectations as the city was expected to benefit from a sustained global demand for AI-related products.
These products include chips, semiconductors, servers, routers and other components for firms to build digital infrastructure such as cloud storage or data centres.
The economist said the city’s exports to other Asian destinations and the United States had risen due to the high demand and investment for AI-related products.
“However, we are still unsure of how the war in the Middle East will develop, and there are also tariffs and export controls to look out for,” he said.
Ho Ting-him, Asia economist at Bank of America, said the city’s surge in exports was in line with regional exports, which had also been driven by AI-related goods and components.
“The accompanying rise in import growth reflects Hong Kong’s role as an entrepot. It also suggests Hong Kong is deeply involved in the regional supply chain despite without a strong production base,” he said.
Ho added that his analysis had found exports of memory chips or semiconductors had contributed to more than a quarter of headline export growth in the city, due to the effect of higher prices.
In the first half of 2026, exports increased by 39.1 per cent from a year earlier, while imports grew by 40.6 per cent, resulting in a trade deficit of HK$294.6 billion.
Hong Kong’s economy expanded by 5.1 per cent year on year in the first half, marking its strongest half-yearly performance in nearly five years.


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Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy

Government expects robust demand to continue supporting trade development despite geopolitical risks


Government expects robust demand to continue supporting trade development despite geopolitical risks.


Technology

Middle East

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Trade

Hong Kong exports jump 50.7% in July, driven by growth in AI-related electronics

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Government expects robust demand to continue supporting trade development despite geopolitical risks

Government expects robust demand to continue supporting trade development despite geopolitical risks