Hong Kong's gross margin and commission from offshore trade rose 11.2% in 2006 over a year earlier to $165.7 billion, the Census & Statistics Department says.

The gross margin from merchanting was $143.5 billion, up 1.6% on 2005, while the commission from merchandising for offshore transactions was $22.3 billion, up 8.8%.

The department said growth momentum in offshore trade continued in 2006 due to vibrant global demand and strong trade flow with the Mainland.

The sales value of goods involved in merchanting grew 16.5% to $1.78 trillion in 2006, while sales value of goods involved in merchandising for offshore transactions was $564.8 billion, up 1.2%. The re-exports value rose 10% to $2.32 trillion in 2006 and the re-export margin rate was 17%.

Analysed by services exports destination, the Mainland was the largest destination in terms of offshore trade earnings, accounting for 27.5% of the total margin and commission earned in 2006. It was followed by the US (27.1%), Japan (5.8%), the UK (5.7%) and Germany (5.3%).

Analysed by destination of goods sold under merchanting, the Mainland was also the largest destination, accounting for 36.1% of the total value of goods sold. It was followed by the US (19.3%), Japan (9.5%), the UK (4%) and Singapore (3.2%).