Hong Kong's Trade in Services Exports Rise 9.9% in 2024, Surplus Decreases to $137.4 Billion

Hong Kong's trade in services statistics for 2024

The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (February 13) the Hong Kong's trade in services (TIS) statistics for 2024, with detailed breakdowns by service component and by main destination/source.

Comparing 2024 with 2023, the value of total exports of services rose by 9.9% to $835.5 billion, and that of total imports of services increased by 12.9% to $698.1 billion. An invisible trade surplus at $137.4 billion, equivalent to 19.7% of the value of total imports of services, was recorded in 2024. This was smaller than the corresponding surplus of $141.6 billion in 2023, equivalent to 22.9% of the value of total imports of services in 2023.

Analysis by service component

Analysed by service component, transport was the largest component in exports of services, accounting for 32.0% of the value of total exports of services in 2024. This was followed by financial services (25.9%) and travel (21.0%).

As for imports of services, travel accounted for 31.9% of the value of total imports of services in 2024, followed by transport (22.1%) and other business services (15.1%).

Amongst various service components, the net exports of financial services contributed most significantly to the overall invisible trade surplus, at $145.8 billion in 2024. This was followed by transport ($112.6 billion) and other business services ($14.4 billion).

On the other hand, manufacturing services imported by Hong Kong in outward processing were substantial, resulting in a deficit of $89.3 billion in 2024. This was followed by travel ($47.5 billion) and charges for the use of intellectual property ($7.2 billion).

Analysis by main destination/source

Chinese Mainland and the United States of America (the USA) were the top two main destinations of exports of services of Hong Kong, accounting for 28.6% and 18.2% respectively of the value of total exports of services in 2024. They were followed by the United Kingdom (the UK) (9.1%), Singapore (5.4%) and Taiwan (4.5%).

Chinese Mainland and the USA were also the top two main sources of imports of services, accounting for 40.8% and 10.9% respectively of the value of total imports of services in 2024. They were followed by Japan (7.8%), the UK (7.5%) and Singapore (4.9%).

Analysed by region, Asia was the most important destination of the exports of services of Hong Kong, accounting for 52.8% of the value of total exports of services in 2024, followed by North America (20.2%) and Western Europe (20.0%).

For imports of services, Asia was also the most important source, accounting for 66.8% of the value of total imports of services in 2024, followed by Western Europe (15.8%) and North America (12.5%).

Further information

Table 1 presents exports, imports and net exports of services by service component in 2023 and 2024.

Table 2 presents exports of services by main destination and imports of services by main source in 2023 and 2024.

Table 3 presents exports, imports and net exports of services by region of destination/source in 2023 and 2024.

More detailed TIS statistics will be given in the report "Hong Kong Trade in Services Statistics in 2024". Users can browse and download this report at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1020011&scode=240) as from end-February 2026.

The TIS statistics have incorporated the latest international recommendations given in the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2010. For details, please refer to the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/scode240.html). They are compiled mainly based on data obtained from the Annual Survey of Imports and Exports of Services conducted by the C&SD, supplemented by data from other relevant sources. The TIS statistics for 2024 are subject to minor revision when more data from supplementary sources become available.

For enquiries about TIS statistics, please contact the Trade in Services Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7415; email: tis@censtatd.gov.hk).

The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), Photo source: reference image

Analytical Accounts of Exchange Fund

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released today (February 13) the key analytical accounts of the Exchange Fund at the end of January 2026.

Foreign assets, representing the external assets of the Exchange Fund, increased during the month by HK$71.8 billion to HK$3,597.3 billion.

The Monetary Base, comprising Certificates of Indebtedness, Governmentissued currency notes and coins in circulation, the balance of the banking system and Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued, amounted to HK$2,058.7 billion.

Claims on the private sector in Hong Kong amounted to HK$386.1billion.

Foreign liabilities amounted to HK$63.9 billion.

The analytical accounts of the Exchange Fund are released in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) and are referred to as the Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank under SDDS (Annex).

*********************************************************

At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's SDDS. The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of February 2026, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:

February 6

(Issued)

SDDS International Reserves

(Hong Kong's Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)

February 13

SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank

(Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)

February 27

SDDS Template on International Reserves and

Foreign Currency Liquidity

February 27

Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and

Currency Board Account

Photo source: AI-created image