Hong Kong’s exports surged 53.4% year over year to HK$641.1 billion in June, their strongest monthly growth in more than 42 years, as demand for artificial intelligence-related electronics boosted trade with major markets.
The Census and Statistics Department released the figures on July 27, showing exports accelerated from a 40.8% increase in May.
The June increase extended Hong Kong’s run of year-over-year export growth to 28 consecutive months, while total exports for the first half of 2026 rose 39.1% from the same period a year earlier to HK$3,416.0 billion. Imports increased 40.6% during the first half, leaving a visible trade deficit of HK$294.6 billion.
The government said sustained global demand for AI-related electronic products was a key factor behind June’s export growth, while the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said strong electronics demand was supported by the accelerated adoption of AI worldwide.
AI Demand Lifts Hong Kong Export Growth
Exports to Asia grew by 54.4% over the previous year, with Singapore seeing the largest rise of 83%, followed by Taiwan (79.9%), the Chinese mainland (59.2%), Vietnam (55.9%) and Thailand (52.3%).
The C&SD data shows exports to the United States grew by 114.3% and shipments to Mexico went up by 94.2%.
The biggest gains were in electronics and technology-related products. Exports of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts increased 57.2% year over year in June, an increase of HK$121.8 billion.
Office machines and automatic data-processing machines exports grew by 93.2%, and telecommunications and sound-recording and reproducing equipment exports grew by 69.9%, respectively.
HKTDC analysis provides further evidence of the importance of electronics to the export surge. Key electronic products, including memory devices, computer parts and accessories, processors and controllers, and other telecommunications and information and communications technology equipment, accounted for 57% of Hong Kong’s total exports in the first five months of 2026, up from 44% in 2024 and 49% in 2025.
Bruce Pang, director of research at HKTDC, said the first-half performance reflected strong electronics demand linked to AI adoption.
“Hong Kong’s exports sustained robust growth in the first half of 2026, underpinned by strong demand for electronics amid the accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) worldwide,” Bruce Pang, director of research at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), said in an HKTDC statement July 27.
The composition of the trade boom also matters. HKTDC said the increase in export values partly reflected higher semiconductor prices, meaning the rise in trade value does not necessarily represent an equivalent increase in the physical volume of goods shipped.
Electronics Demand Reshapes Hong Kong’s Trade Role
The Hong Kong region does not have a large semiconductor manufacturing base. It focuses, rather, on trade, re-export, logistics and related services.
Hong Kong made up nearly 52% of China’s imports of US$239 billion in chips in the first five months of 2026, while it only accounted for about one-third of imports in the same period ten years ago.
Due to the air-cargo industry and free-port, Hong Kong is well-positioned to serve semiconductor trading, which has high value, is lightweight and time-sensitive, said Gary Ng, senior economist for Asia-Pacific at Natixis, a French investment bank. The arrangement allows companies to make frequent shipments or hold inventory for later sales, he said.
The city’s position also reflects the broader expansion of AI-related trade in Asia. HSBC economists have estimated that intra-Asian AI trade had nearly doubled from pre-pandemic levels to almost US$2 trillion in 2025.
Billy Mak Sui-choi, an associate professor in the Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance at Hong Kong Baptist University, said AI-related demand remained broad because no single country dominates the technology ecosystem across hardware, models and services.
“No single country has yet been able to dominate the AI field across models, services and hardware,” Mak told the South China Morning Post. “As long as countries see an opportunity to compete, they will continue investing in the necessary hardware.”
Mak said AI demand initially centered heavily on Nvidia graphics processing units but has broadened to other components, including memory chips, photovoltaic modules and motherboards.
AI Trade Strengthens Hong Kong’s Economic Outlook
In the first half of 2026, real GDP rose by 5.1% year-on-year, its best half-yearly result in almost five years. The GDP growth in real terms stood at 4.3% in the second quarter following 5.9% in the first quarter.
On the export side, total goods exports rose 28.9 per cent in real terms in the second quarter, which the government said was partly due to high demand for AI products in the global market.
On Aug. 14, the government raised its full-year 2026 real GDP growth forecast to 3.5%-4.5%, from its previous forecast of 2.5%-3.5%. The revision was due to robust first-half economic activity and near-term prospects, it said.
The government expects global demand for AI-related electronics to continue supporting merchandise trade and related logistics services during the second half of the year. It also warned that trade protectionism, geopolitical tensions and risks associated with rapid global AI investment require monitoring.
Higher Tariffs Create New Trade Headwinds
The United States imposed a 12.5% tariff on products from Hong Kong effective July 24, according to a July 28 Federal Register notice from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The measure applies to products of Hong Kong, subject to specified exemptions.
Pang said Hong Kong’s export growth could moderate as the technology upcycle stabilizes, the global economy eases, and the comparison base becomes more difficult.
“On the whole, Hong Kong’s merchandise exports could see moderating growth momentum in the coming months, amid a likely gradual steadying of the technology upcycle, an easing global economy, as well as the high-base effect from last year,” Pang said.
He maintained HKTDC’s forecast that Hong Kong’s full-year exports would grow by more than 20% in 2026.
For now, the June figures show that Hong Kong’s traditional role as a trading and re-export hub is benefiting from the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure. The key question for the rest of 2026 is whether strong demand for AI hardware can continue to offset higher trade barriers, geopolitical risks and the eventual normalization of semiconductor prices.
