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The city’s merchandise trade gap widened to HK$89.1 billion in March 2026, equal to 12.6 per cent of the value of imports. Total exports rose 35.8 per cent year on year to HK$618.4 billion, while imports jumped 41.2 per cent to HK$707.5 billion, underscoring the unusual scale of the surge in cross-border goods flows through one of Asia’s main trading hubs.

The figures point to a mixed signal for Hong Kong’s externally oriented economy. Export growth was the strongest since early 2021, reflecting robust global demand for electronic components, telecommunications equipment, semiconductors and related supply-chain goods. Yet the sharper rise in imports left the city with a deficit larger than any monthly gap recorded over more than seven decades, highlighting the pressure created by front-loaded purchases, supply-chain repositioning and higher input costs.

For the first quarter of 2026, total exports climbed 32 per cent from a year earlier, while imports increased 37 per cent. The visible trade deficit for the quarter reached HK$168.4 billion, equivalent to 9.8 per cent of imports. On a seasonally adjusted basis, exports rose 18.4 per cent from the previous quarter, while imports advanced 20 per cent.

The most striking gains came from technology-linked categories. Exports of electrical machinery, apparatus, appliances and related parts rose by HK$99.8 billion, or 47.9 per cent, in March from a year earlier. Telecommunications and sound recording equipment exports increased by HK$40.2 billion, or 94.7 per cent, while non-ferrous metals shipments rose by HK$10.2 billion, or 175.9 per cent.

Imports showed a similar pattern, but with larger absolute increases in several categories. Purchases of electrical machinery and related parts grew by HK$106.2 billion, or 49.5 per cent. Telecommunications and sound recording equipment imports rose by HK$45.3 billion, or 93 per cent. Non-ferrous metals imports surged by HK$30.4 billion, a rise of more than 400 per cent, suggesting strong demand for materials used in electronics, data-centre infrastructure and advanced manufacturing supply chains.

The widening deficit also reflects Hong Kong’s role as a re-export centre rather than a conventional manufacturing economy. Goods imported into the city often move onwards to mainland China, Southeast Asia, the United States and Europe after financing, logistics, testing, repackaging or redistribution. During periods of strong global technology demand, import values can rise faster than exports if companies build inventories, reroute shipments or accelerate procurement to avoid transport delays.

Geopolitical tensions have added another layer of volatility. The war in the Middle East has pushed up energy prices, raised shipping risks and complicated trade routes linking Asia with Europe and the Gulf. Higher freight and insurance costs can lift the recorded value of imports, while uncertainty over maritime routes may encourage companies to bring forward shipments or diversify logistics channels. Hong Kong, with its deep financial links and dense regional supply-chain networks, is exposed to those shifts even when final demand originates elsewhere.

The export destination data showed broad-based strength across Asia and beyond. Shipments to Singapore more than doubled, while exports to Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and mainland China recorded strong gains. Exports to the United States also rose sharply, reflecting resilient demand for electronics and technology-linked goods despite continuing trade friction and tariff risks. Shipments to the United Kingdom declined, indicating uneven demand across advanced markets.

On the import side, increases were recorded from most major suppliers. Purchases from the United Kingdom, Korea, India, Vietnam, the United States and mainland China all rose substantially, underlining the geographically diverse nature of the procurement surge. Mainland China remained central to the city’s trade flows, both as a supplier and destination, while Southeast Asian economies continued to gain prominence in electronics and component supply chains.

The data suggest that Hong Kong is benefiting from the global investment race in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and advanced electronics, but the gains come with greater exposure to external shocks. Demand for AI servers, chips, networking equipment and related components has lifted trade volumes across Asia, while higher energy prices and shipping uncertainty are adding costs and complicating timing decisions for importers.

Just over four hours from Changi Airport. Visa-free entry. And almost entirely unexplored by Singapore’s diving community.

To close that gap, the Taiwan Pavilion returned for its second consecutive year, transforming the Suntec Convention Centre into a gateway to Taiwan’s four major aquatic frontiers. This year’s headline act: Green Island (Lyudao)—a volcanic gem rising from the Pacific that’s still well under the radar for most Southeast Asian travellers.

Green Island: Taiwan’s Most Underrated Dive Destination

Green Island is not just another dive site. Swept by the warm Kuroshio Current, the island delivers visibility that regularly exceeds 30 metres—a “liquid glass” effect that few dive sites in Southeast Asia can match.

• The Ancient Guardian: Divers can encounter the “Big Mushroom,” a living coral structure believed to be over 1,000 years old—a humbling reminder of what the ocean can sustain when left in peace.
• The World’s Deepest Postbox: At the Shilang Diving Area, you can mail waterproof postcards from the world’s deepest underwater mailbox (11 metres down). It’s the kind of quirky detail that makes travel worth talking about.
• Dive by Day, Soak by Night: Green Island is home to the Zhaori Saltwater Hot Springs—one of the rare seawater hot springs globally. Trading your wetsuit for a poolside soak at sunset is the kind of contrast that turns a trip into a story.

Xiaoliuqiu: Taiwan’s Best Island Escape Off the Clock

Floating off the coast of Pingtung, this compact coral island is one of the few places on Earth where wild sea turtles are so at home, they’ve practically become locals—surfacing beside snorkelers with an ancient calm.

• The Locals Who Never Leave: Xiaoliuqiu hosts one of Taiwan’s densest populations of green sea turtles. With a professional dive guide leading you beneath the surface, an underwater encounter with a creature that has outlived the dinosaurs becomes less a lucky sighting and more a near-certainty.
• Dive by Day, Own the Night: When the sun drops, Xiaoliuqiu doesn’t go quiet—it shifts gear entirely. Night ecology tours reveal a different cast of creatures, and the evening ends not at a hotel bar but around a fire with fresh BBQ seafood under a sky with almost zero light pollution. That’s the kind of night that still feels real a week later.

Penghu: The Basalt Archipelago With a Coral Heart

Anchored in the Taiwan Strait and shaped by seasonal winds that have carved its basalt coastline for millennia, Penghu delivers a version of Taiwan that feels genuinely off-script—ancient, oceanic, and spectacular on its own terms.

• The Bridge That Crosses the Sea: At nearly 2.5 kilometres, the Penghu Cross-Sea Bridge is the kind of infrastructure that earns its own mythology. Drive it at golden hour, with open water stretching in every direction, and a standard itinerary starts to feel like an expedition.
• Taiwan’s Best-Kept Secret Island: Huching Islet—once named one of the world’s top ten secret islands—greets visitors with towering basalt columns, cats that outnumber people, and a pace of life that has no interest in catching up with the mainland. It’s 20 minutes by boat from Magong, and a different world entirely.
• The Double Heart in the Sea: At the southern tip of the archipelago, Qimei Island’s twin stone fish traps curve into two interlocking hearts—built centuries ago by fishermen, now one of Taiwan’s most iconic images. The rare landmark that earns its reputation without trying.
• The Coral That Grows Back: Penghu’s coral restoration programme lets travellers do something rarer than sightseeing—actively participate in reef recovery, planting coral fragments on underwater nurseries alongside marine biologists. The most meaningful souvenir you can’t bring home.

Sustainability: More Than a Trend

With 45.8% of surveyed divers aged 25–34 expressing strong interest in eco-conscious travel, the Pavilion put sustainable diving front and centre. World-renowned underwater photographer Yorko Summer appeared alongside conservationists Peggy (TurtleSpot Taiwan) and NT (Penghu Reef Restoration) to demonstrate how Taiwan is going beyond tourism rhetoric into genuine marine stewardship—3D-printed eco-substrates, sea turtle nesting patrols, and active reef monitoring. Singaporean divers aren’t just being invited to visit—they’re being invited to contribute.

World-Class Gear, Made in Taiwan

The Pavilion also shone a light on Taiwan’s homegrown dive industry. Brands including ATMOS, 123 Underwater Lab, and DIVEVERYDAY demonstrated that the “Made-in-Taiwan” (MIT) spirit extends well beyond electronics and manufacturing—into world-class dive technology ready for Singapore’s most discerning enthusiasts.

— Taiwan Tourism Administration, Singapore Office

As ADEX 2026 makes clear, Taiwan’s dive scene represents one of the most significant untapped opportunities in the Singaporean travel market. For divers looking for somewhere extraordinary—somewhere most of their friends haven’t been yet, just a short flight away—the Pacific has been keeping a secret.

It’s time to dive in.

Hashtag: #ADEX2026

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The rally reflected a market view that the worst-case economic fallout from the conflict may yet be avoided if negotiations regain momentum. Investors were encouraged by signs that talks between Washington and Tehran could resume after earlier efforts faltered, easing some fears over energy supply disruptions and allowing attention to swing back to earnings, economic data and the resilience of household demand in the United States and Asia. That shift in mood helped lift US stock futures and underpinned broader gains from Tokyo to Mumbai.

Japan led the advance, with exporters and technology names benefiting from stronger risk appetite and the market’s belief that any easing in Middle East tensions could reduce pressure on fuel costs and shipping. The Nikkei’s record level also reflected investor confidence that large Japanese companies remain well placed to benefit from global demand for semiconductors, automation and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Elsewhere, South Korean and Hong Kong shares also moved higher, while mainland Chinese markets were supported by data showing the economy expanded by 5.0 per cent in the first quarter, beating expectations and offering some reassurance that domestic activity has retained momentum despite the geopolitical shock.

Wall Street’s lead mattered. The S&P 500 closed at 7,022.95 on Wednesday, a record that marked a full recovery from losses triggered after the conflict began in late February, while the Nasdaq posted another record finish and extended a powerful winning streak. Strong results from major banks, including Bank of America and Morgan Stanley, reinforced the idea that corporate America is entering the earnings season on firmer footing than many investors had feared when oil prices spiked and risk assets sold off. Reuters reported that 84 per cent of companies that had reported by then had beaten expectations, helping to steady nerves about margins and consumer activity.

The earnings story is now sharing the stage with geopolitics. Markets are effectively pricing a narrower range of negative outcomes than they were only weeks ago, but that optimism remains conditional. Oil prices, while off their most alarming levels, are still elevated by historical standards, and every diplomatic headline continues to carry outsized weight because the Strait of Hormuz remains central to global crude flows. Reports that Iran may allow shipping through the waterway helped calm traders, though supply risks have not disappeared, especially with refinery disruptions in Australia and the threat of fresh sanctions or military miscalculation still present.

That tension between relief and caution is visible across asset classes. The dollar was broadly steady, the euro stayed firm, gold edged up and cryptocurrencies drifted lower, all signs that investors have not fully abandoned hedges even as they add exposure to equities. In India, shares opened higher as lower oil prices and hopes of renewed dialogue supported all major sectors, with the Nifty 50 and Sensex building on gains from the previous session. For economies that import large volumes of energy, any sustained cooling in crude would ease inflation pressure, support currencies and give central banks more room to focus on domestic growth rather than external shocks.

Technology remains a central pillar of the market’s confidence. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. was in focus ahead of results that investors expected to show a sharp profit jump, driven by demand tied to artificial intelligence chips. That anticipation has fed into a broader belief that the AI investment cycle can continue to offset weakness elsewhere in the global economy. Yet the strength of that narrative also creates a vulnerability: richly valued technology shares leave little room for disappointment, and any sign of slowing orders or tighter capital spending could quickly change the market tone.

The slowdown matters because overseas sales have been doing much of the heavy lifting for China while the property downturn and soft household spending continue to restrain growth at home. Economists surveyed by Reuters expect the economy to have expanded 4.8 per cent in the first quarter, up from 4.5 per cent in the previous three months, but they also see the outlook dimming as the Middle East conflict pushes up input costs and clouds demand in key markets.

March’s figures suggest that what had looked like a strong start to the year is becoming harder to sustain. Earlier gains had been supported by front-loaded shipments, strong demand for artificial intelligence-linked electronics and a rebound in some advanced manufacturing exports. That mix is now facing a harsher external backdrop. The conflict involving Iran has disturbed energy markets, with the Strait of Hormuz under severe strain and oil prices climbing towards the $100 a barrel mark, a level that raises transport, production and logistics costs across Asia and Europe.

Imports into China, by contrast, jumped 27.8 per cent in March, the strongest increase since late 2021. Part of that rise reflected demand tied to semiconductors, components and technology supply chains, but it also pointed to stockpiling and shifting trade flows as businesses prepared for a more volatile energy and freight environment. The divergence between softer export growth and surging imports may complicate Beijing’s effort to keep its large trade surplus intact through 2026.

Pressure from the Iran conflict is being transmitted through more than one channel. China remains heavily exposed to imported energy, and although it has reserves and a diversified supply base, higher crude and gas costs squeeze manufacturers’ margins and can erode the price competitiveness that has underpinned the country’s export machine. Reuters reported that March also brought the first rise in factory-gate prices in more than three years, indicating that cost pressures are building just as external demand becomes less predictable.

There are also direct trade effects. Reuters reported that crude and natural gas imports fell as the regional conflict disrupted flows. OPEC, in its first formal assessment of the war’s economic effect, cut its forecast for second-quarter global oil demand by 500,000 barrels a day, saying the conflict had become a meaningful drag on consumption and trade. For export-oriented economies such as China, that points to a tougher environment in which customers abroad may curb discretionary spending while producers face steeper energy bills.

Yet the picture is not uniformly bleak. China’s technology and clean-energy manufacturers still have areas of strength that could cushion the blow. Overseas demand for electric vehicles, batteries and solar equipment has been supported by the same oil shock that is hurting traditional exporters. Associated Press reported that Chinese new-energy vehicle exports continued to surge in March, while another AP analysis said the energy crisis was sharpening global interest in Chinese clean-tech supply chains. Those sectors are unlikely to offset every weakness, but they do show that the country’s export story is becoming more uneven rather than simply weaker across the board.

That unevenness is visible across product categories. Lower-value consumer goods such as clothing, furniture and other labour-intensive shipments were hit by seasonal factors and softer foreign demand, while higher-end electrical and AI-linked exports remained more resilient. South Korea’s sharp rise in exports to China, driven by chip demand, underlined the point that advanced technology supply chains are still expanding even as broader goods trade loses pace.

Beijing now faces a familiar policy dilemma made more acute by war. It wants to preserve growth without adding excessive leverage, support exporters without worsening trade tensions, and stabilise domestic demand while avoiding another debt-fuelled property cycle. Current forecasts still place full-year growth within the official 4.5 to 5 per cent target range, but many analysts now expect a weaker second quarter than they did before the Iran crisis deepened. Fiscal support, bond issuance and selective easing remain on the table, though officials appear cautious about deploying a large stimulus immediately.

The early-April figures reinforce a broader pattern already visible through the first quarter. South Korea, one of the world’s most closely watched export economies because of its central role in memory chips, displays and consumer electronics, has been benefiting from a steep recovery in semiconductor sales after a prolonged industry downturn. Reuters reported at the end of February that the country’s chip exports had jumped 160.9 per cent in that month alone, passing $20 billion for a third straight month as AI investment and stronger memory prices lifted demand.

Semiconductors were again the main engine in the latest 10-day release. Chip exports surged 152 per cent from a year earlier, underscoring how heavily South Korea’s trade performance is now tied to data-centre investment, high-bandwidth memory demand and the wider AI build-out led by large technology firms. That strength has helped offset a less even backdrop in other parts of the economy, where investment, household demand and external policy risks remain more mixed.

The export rebound matters well beyond monthly trade headlines. South Korea’s central bank raised its 2026 growth forecast to 2.0 per cent in February and signalled that a chip-led upswing was giving policymakers more room to hold interest rates steady while watching inflation and financial stability risks. Reuters also reported this month that central bank officials see strong semiconductor exports and an extra budget as factors easing downward pressure on growth, even as won weakness and higher energy costs complicate the inflation outlook.

Factory data has pointed in the same direction. A Reuters report on S&P Global survey findings showed South Korea’s manufacturing activity expanded in January at the fastest pace in nearly a year and a half, helped by stronger export orders from China, North America and Europe. Manufacturers reported improving optimism as orders strengthened in sectors such as autos and semiconductors, indicating that the recovery is not only statistical but also visible in production and order books.

Still, the trade picture is not free of risk. South Korea remains highly exposed to swings in global demand, to US trade policy and to supply disruptions linked to tensions in the Middle East. Reuters polling before the March trade data showed imports rising sharply as higher oil prices pushed up the energy bill, even while exports surged on semiconductor strength. That combination can support headline trade values, but it also leaves the economy vulnerable to a renewed squeeze from commodity inflation and currency volatility.

Another uncertainty lies in concentration. The same chip boom that is lifting exports also raises dependence on a narrow cluster of products and companies. South Korea’s trade resilience is being powered largely by memory and advanced semiconductor demand, especially products linked to AI servers. Investment plans such as SK Hynix’s announcement in February of 21.6 trillion won in new facilities show confidence in long-term demand, but they also underline how central the semiconductor cycle has become to the country’s broader growth model.

For now, the momentum remains hard to ignore. Reuters polling ahead of the March data had already pointed to the fastest export growth in nearly five years, with shipments to the United States and China both showing strong gains alongside the semiconductor surge. Monday’s early-April figures suggest that pace has carried into the second quarter, strengthening the case that South Korea’s exporters are entering another period of outsized performance after a weak stretch in 2025.

All the pretty girls scroll like this

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 10 April 2026 – Modern beauty has a new enemy, and it’s right in our hands: the mobile phone. Endless scrolling keeps us hooked, but it also keeps our heads down. With content so addictive, one ends up spending hours slouching. So, all that main character power and energy vanish—replaced by slumping and hunching. Over time, posture slips, presence shrinks, and bold beauty follows. “Text neck” isn’t just a physical issue; it’s quietly changing how we carry ourselves.

LUX, the iconic global beauty brand, knows true radiance is about how you show up. That effortless “it girl” energy starts with posture. That’s why the brand is launching LUX Chin Up—a digital tool designed to tackle “Text Neck” and help women keep their heads high and their bold beauty even higher. It’s the perfect modern solution for the modern beauty problem.

“LUX always inspires women to boost their presence and own their beauty power,” said Gaurav Datta, Global Brand VP. “Our phones are amazing for self-expression, but there’s a catch. While they elevate our digital selves, they often shrink our real-world presence. That constant downward scroll quietly chips away at posture, poise, and bold beauty. With ‘Chin Up,’ we’re offering a simple way for women to realign, lift up, and step back into their power.”

LUX has a brilliantly simple, tech-forward solution. Forget complicated downloads or wearable tech. LUX Chin Up is a smart web page that taps into your phone’s own motion sensors. When used with the split-screen option, it stays on screen as a small tab, reminding you of the right angle to be maintained while you doomscroll.

• The Sweet Spot: The tool encourages you to keep your screen at an optimal
  90-degree angle.
• The Gentle Nudge: If you start to slouch and the angle drops (and with it your head), the sensor detects it and the screen blinks, prompting you to raise your phone and go chin up.
• The Reset: Straighten up, bring your phone back up and carry on scrolling with boldness.

LUX believes this can be an essential modern-day beauty ritual that extends beyond the shower to solve a modern-day problem. By habituating women to hold the right posture, LUX is naturally lifting their chins, opening their posture, and instantly restoring that vibrant, room-commanding presence. It’s a small shift that brings Main Character Beauty to life, on screen and off.

Make LUX Chin Up a habit, try it for a week and improve your posture. Visit lux.com/chinup

Hashtag: #LUXChinUp #LUX

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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