HONG KONG, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's first-quarter GNP surged 8 percent over a year earlier to 354.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 45.75 billion U.S. dollars), the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department said Friday.

Meanwhile Hong Kong's first-quarter GDP was estimated at 346.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 44.72 billion U.S. dollars), rising 7.8 percent, the department said.

The department said external factor income inflow and outflow remained sizable in the first quarter, both equivalent to more than two-fifths of Hong Kong's GDP. This reflected not only the highly externally oriented nature of the Hong Kong economy, but also its positions as an international financial center and a regional business hub in facilitating external investment activities.

Compared with GDP, the value of Hong Kong's GNP was larger by 8.1 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 1.05 billion U.S. dollars), representing a net external factor income inflow of the same amount, and equivalent to 2.3 percent of GDP in that quarter. After netting out the effect of price changes, Hong Kong's GNP rose 8.3 percent in real terms over a year earlier, slightly higher than the corresponding increase of 8.2 percent recorded for GDP in the same quarter.

According to the released statistics, China's mainland continued to be the largest source of Hong Kong's external factor income inflow in the first quarter of 2006, accounting for 28.4 percent. Enditem