The Chinese mainland posted a high growth in trade with Hong Kong and Macao last year, with a new progress in their economic partnership, sources with the Ministry of Commerce have said.

In the first 11 months, trade between the mainland and the two special administrative regions amounted to 151.57 billion U.S. dollars, including 141.48 billion U.S. dollars in exports by the mainland and 10.09 billion U.S. dollars in imports.

The sources said Hong Kong remained the fourth largest trade partner of the mainland. Trade stood at 149.37 billion U.S. dollars in from January to November, a growth of 24 percent over the same period a year earlier. The total included 139.51 billion U.S. dollars in exports by the mainland, up 27.6 percent, and 986 million U.S. dollars in imports, down 11.6 percent.

According to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), the mainland actually used 17.5 billion U.S. dollars in capital from Hong Kong, up 14.1 percent.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong became the largest recipient of mainland offshore investment.

By the end of 2005, the mainland established more than 2,500 non-financial enterprises in Hong Kong, involving a combined investment of 36.5 billion U.S. dollars, or 63.8 percent of the mainland's direct offshore investment.

From January to September last year, non-financial companies launched by the mainland in Hong Kong numbered 174, with 3.3 billion U.S. dollars in direct investment, or 28 percent of the total for non-financial businesses established overseas by the mainland.

Mainland companies continued their enthusiasm for listing in Hong Kong.

Last year, 32 mainland businesses were listed on the Hong Kong equity market, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which launched the world's largest IPO (initial public offering) last October, raising more than 15.6 billion U.S. dollars.

The MOC sources said at the end of last year, 360 mainland companies went public in Hong Kong, with 6.01 trillion HK dollars in market value, or 48 percent of the HK equity market's total.

Last year, the mainland continued to be the largest trade partner of Macao. From January to November, trade amounted to 2.2 billion U.S. dollars, up 13.9 percent from the same period a year earlier. The total included 1.97 billion U.S. dollars in exports by the mainland, up 37.4 percent, and 230 million U.S. dollars in imports, down 1.3 percent.

Last year a supplement agreement to the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement was signed by the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, in a bid to promote the mainland's opening up in service trade to the two special administrative regions.

The new supplement agreement also embraced cooperation in intellectual property rights protection and in conference and exhibition business.

Source: Xinhua