Hong Kong had an invisible trade surplus of 231.6 billion HK dollars (30 billion U.S. dollars) in 2005, equivalent to 87.6 percent of the value of total imports of services, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said here Thursday.

This was larger than the corresponding surplus of 187.1 billion HK dollars, equivalent to 77.1 percent of the value of total imports of services, in 2004, according to figures released by the HKSAR government.

In 2005, the value of total exports of services rose by 15.4 percent to 495.8 billion HK dollars over 2004, and that of total imports of services grew by 9.0 percent to 264.2 billion HK dollars over the same period.

A HKSAR government spokesman noted that Hong Kong's exports of services sustained strong growth momentum in 2005. Exports of merchanting and other trade-related services, transportation services and travel services continued to record robust growth, boosted by the Mainland's strong trade flows and further expansion in inbound tourism, while exports of financial services surged notably amidst active financial markets.

The robust performance of exports of services in 2005 is indicative of the increasingly important role of Hong Kong as a business, financial and service hub in the region.

The spokesman further pointed out that the Mainland remained the largest destination of Hong Kong's exports of services in 2005, accounting for over one-quarter of the total.

"This indicates that Hong Kong has continued to play a significant role as an eminent foothold and conduit for business between the Mainland and the rest of the world," he said. (One U.S. dollar equals 7.8 HK dollars)