(Yicai Global) March 23 -- The Hong Kong export index, a gauge of the short-term export prospects for exporters in the special administrative region, gained for the fourth consecutive quarter in the first quarter, demonstrating that confidence is on the rise, according to a new report.

 The export index was up 2.8 points in the three months ended March 31 from the previous quarter to 39, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said yesterday. However, it remains below the threshold of 50, meaning contraction, indicating that the road to full recovery is still long.

The proportion of exporters hit hard by the pandemic dropped to 33.1 percent in the first quarter from 56.7 percent in the fourth quarter last year, said Nicholas Kwan, research director at the council. Their main concern is if there should be more waves of the pandemic and global demand declines further, he added.

The quarterly index, which polls 500 exporters of machinery, electronics, jewelry, clocks, toys and apparel, measures many factors, such as whether consumer confidence is growing and whether local government stimulus policies are working.

Jewelry and toys showed the biggest bounce in export confidence, gaining 9.2 points to 42.2 and up 8.8 points to 44.7 respectively, said council economist Samantha Yim.

The outlook for exports to the US market turned positive in the first quarter, climbing 1.7 points to 46.1. That for the Chinese mainland and Japan remained similar to the previous quarter at 48 and 47.3 respectively. Exporters were less confident about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union, and their scores dropped two points to 45.2 for the ASEAN and 1.1 points to 42.9 for the EU.

The trade value sub-index rose 9.8 points to 46.3, the employment sub-index climbed 1.7 base points to 43.2 and the purchase sub-index dipped one point to 33.6, indicating that Hong Kong businessmen are still worried that their orders will drop even though their sentiment towards exports improved, Yim said.

Editor: Kim Taylor