 |
HONG KONG, Dec. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The third DHL Global Connectedness Index ("GCI") revealed that Hong Kong continues to lead the world in depth of global connectedness, which measures a region's international flow relative to the size of its domestic economy, mainly driven by strong flows from mainland China, and shows improvements across all major measuring areas. Hong Kong is ranked 11th globally in terms of overall connectedness and 2nd only to Singapore in the East Asia & Pacific region, just ahead of Korea.
On the contrast, Hong Kong is ranked 74th in terms of breadth, which measures a region's global geographic distribution. The ranking is way behind its Asian counterparts including Korea and Japan, which are ranked 6th and 7th respectively.
Cross-border flows between Hong Kong and mainland China remain robust and are ranked among the world's top 3 largest flows in terms of merchandise trade and tourist flows. The GCI gives a detailed analysis of the state of globalization around the world, studying international flows of trade, capital, people and information. Unlike other established globalization indices, the GCI analyzes globalization in 3-D: It looks at the depth of countries' cross-border interactions, their directionality (outward flows versus inward flows) as well as their geographic distribution (breadth).
"The GCI, with its unique 3-D approach, is the only one of the globalization indices to register what many observers regard as the biggest drop-off in the intensity of globalization during the financial crisis," explains Professor Pankaj Ghemawat, co-author of the report and internationally acclaimed globalization expert and business strategist. "That should boost confidence in using it as the basis for diagnosis and decision-making."
Trade
Hong Kong retains its strong standing as the export gateway for China. In 2013, Hong Kong was the top-ranked economy worldwide on the depth of its merchandise exports and imports. The merchandise trade flow from mainland China to Hong Kong is the 3rd largest in the world, following that of China to the U.S. and Canada to the U.S. Goods exported from Hong Kong are worth 196% of the city's GDP while exported services are worth 49%, with 72% of merchandise exports bound for destinations within East Asia & the Pacific region.
Capital
Hong Kong also excels in terms of the depth of cross-border capital flow. Both outward and inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stocks top the charts worldwide, as do Hong Kong's outward FDI flows which equaled 141% of its Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) over the past three years. The index also shows that 45% of Hong Kong's inward FDI stocks came from within East Asia & the Pacific region.
Information
The information exchange and internet infrastructures continue to be an important asset to Hong Kong. Its information pillar depth topped the world, based on international internet bandwidth, international phone calls, and printed material trade. 85% of the international calling minutes from Hong Kong were to other countries within East Asia & Pacific.
People
Hong Kong is consistently among the better performers in terms of population diversity and mobility and came 3rd among the most deeply connected in terms of people flows. 88% of its international tourists and 96% of its international students came from East Asia & Pacific region while Hong Kong's tourists from mainland China account for the 3rd largest group of visitors to any territory worldwide, while visitors to the U.S. from Canada and to Mexico from the U.S. account for the first and second largest groups, respectively.
Ken Lee, Executive Vice President Commercial, Asia Pacific and Managing Director, Hong Kong and Macau, DHL Express, said, "From the latest GCI findings, we can see that Hong Kong continues to benefit economically from its proximity to mainland China, while its own financial aptness, internet infrastructure, free flow of capital and merchandise trades continue to play a crucial role in maintaining its international connectedness."
"However, although the city consistently demonstrates its competitive edge in all respects, there are growth opportunities yet to be exploited, as the GCI report concludes. DHL, as a global logistics industry leader with grasp of in-depth data such as the GCI and decades of knowledge and proven expertise in logistics, is well positioned to help the city and its enterprises overcome geographical distances to enter potential markets."
Other key findings of the GCI report include:
Commissioned by DHL, the DHL Global Connectedness Index draws on more than 1 million data points from international flows covering trade, capital, information and people over the last nine years. The Index aims to provide the most comprehensive and timely account of the world's global connectedness, backed up by regional and country-level analysis covering 140 countries that encompass 99% of the world's GDP and 95% of its population.
Note to editors:
The DHL Global Connectedness Index 2014 as well as supplemental background information can be downloaded at www.dhl.com/gci.
DHL -- The logistics company for the world
DHL is the global market leader in the logistics and transportation industry and "The logistics company for the world". DHL commits its expertise in international express, national and international parcel delivery, air and ocean freight, road and rail transportation as well as contract and e-commerce related solutions along the entire supply chain. A global network composed of more than 220 countries and territories and around 315,000 employees worldwide offers customers superior service quality and local knowledge to satisfy their shipping and supply chain requirements. DHL accepts its social responsibility by supporting environmental protection, disaster management and education.
DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL. The Group generated revenues of more than 55 billion euros in 2013.
Logo - http://www.prnasia.com/sa/2010/09/02/20100902467742-l.jpg
