(9th July 2007, Hong Kong) Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) announced today its tonnage throughput for June, the second quarter and the first half of year 2007.

A total of 214,055 tonnes were handled in June, representing a year-on-year increase of 3.9%. Tonnage throughput for the second quarter and for the first half of the year was 629,857 tonnes and 1,206,734 tonnes, representing a year-on-year growth of 1.9% and 1.0% respectively.

Export volume was 118,214 tonnes for June and 351,988 tonnes for the second quarter, representing a year-on-year growth of 3.2 % and 1.4% respectively. Volume exported to the U.S. and Europe registered a slight growth of 1.5% and 3.7% in the second quarter respectively, underlying a continuous slower growth trend for exports to both markets. Export volume growth to Mainland China in the second quarter registered a slight growth of 3.2%. Cumulative export tonnage for the first half of the year was 666,592 tonnes, up 0.3% against the same period last year.

A total of 57,841 tonnes and 165,873 tonnes of import cargo were handled in June and in the second quarter, down 1.9% and 4.7% respectively. Import volume from Mainland China and the U.S. market registered a year-on-year increase of 9.8% and 7.2% in the second quarter; while another major import market, Europe showed a decline of 5.6%. Cumulative import tonnage for the first half of the year was 327,887 tonnes, down 2.4% against the same period last year.

The transshipment volume was 38,000 tonnes for June, and 111,996 tonnes for the second quarter, representing a year-on-year increase of 16.5% and 15.3% for the respective periods. Total transshipment volume for the first six months was 212,255 tonnes, up 9.3% year-on-year.

Ms. Lilian Chan, General Manager, Marketing and Customer Service said, “The cargo growth of 1.9% in Q2 saw a slight improvement from Q1. However, the growth rate in Q2 is still relatively slow as key export markets of the U.S. and Europe still register signs of slowness. We remain cautiously optimistic towards the air cargo growth trend in the second half of year 2007.”

The summary of the import, export and transshipment volumes handled in June, the second quarter and the first half of year 2007 is tabulated as follows: