Monday, December 22, 2003
Japan's trade surplus with Asia soars 63.1% in November Agence France-Presse Tokyo, December 22
Japan's trade surplus with the rest of Asia in November soared 63.1 per cent from a year earlier to 513.7 billion yen ($4.8 billion) on the back of rising exports to China, the government said on Monday.
Asia-bound exports, which account for some 30 per cent of Japan's total exports, jumped 10.6 per cent to 2.16 trillion yen while imports grew only 0.5 per cent to 1.65 trillion yen.
"Nearly 50 per cent of Japanese exports to Asia were supported by China," a finance ministry official said, adding shipments of hi-tech products including semiconductors and mobile phones were strong in China and other parts of Asia.
Japan's trade surplus with India rose by 64.4 per cent to 1.9 billion yen.
Japan's exports to China, which make up for some 10 per cent of the total shipments, rose 20.9 per cent to 551.5 billion yen.
"Demand in China is particularly strong. Apart from consumer demand for Japanese hi-tech products, exports of industrial material are rising as more Japanese manufacturers are moving their plants to China," said Tatsuya Torikoshi, senior economist at Daiwa Institute of Research.
The ministry said Japan's overall November trade surplus rose 11.3 per cent year on year to 990.2 billion yen with exports falling two per cent to four.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2003.