On the 4th, it was announced that Hong Kong's exports recorded a year-on-year growth of 12.7% in the first seven months of this year. Therefore, the bureau raised its overall export growth forecast for Hong Kong in 2025 from 3% to 7% to 9%. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council released the Export Confidence Index for the third quarter of 2025 on the same day. The current situation index increased from 49.6 in the previous quarter to 53.3, while the expected index increased from 49 in the previous quarter to 54.3. Fan Wan'er, Research Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, said that Hong Kong's export performance in the first seven months of this year exceeded expectations, mainly due to the industry's adoption of early shipment trade strategies, but these effects will gradually fade away in the coming months. She said that since August, the United States has imposed high tariffs on multiple major trading partners, and in addition, trade negotiations between China and the United States are still ongoing, so everyone should remain cautious and avoid excessive optimism. However, the current market classification index shows that mainland China, ASEAN and other regions continue to be regarded as the best performing markets, and the expected market classification index also reflects exporters' optimism about the prospects of many markets, including mainland China. Senior Economist at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Zhi Le, stated that data from the third quarter of this year shows that despite the challenging trade environment, most surveyed companies still expect their net profit margins to rise or at least remain stable. (New Society)