Hong Kong's gross national income (GNI), which denotes the total income earned by the city’s residents from various economic activities, rose by 5.1 percent in the first quarter of 2026 over a year earlier to HK$925.7 billion at current market prices, official data showed on Tuesday.

The gross domestic product (GDP), estimated at HK$843.9 billion at current market prices in the same quarter, saw a 5.3 percent rise year-on-year, according to preliminary statistics released by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD).

In Q1, the value of GNI was larger than GDP by HK$81.8 billion, mainly attributable to a net inflow of investment income, the C&SD said in a statement.

Estimated at HK$529.6 billion, the city’s total inflow of primary income in the first quarter of 2026, which mainly comprises investment income, recorded a 1.6-percent year-on-year increase. It is equivalent to 62.8 percent of GDP in the quarter.

Meanwhile, total primary income outflow, estimated at HK$447.8 billion in the first quarter of 2026 and equivalent to 53.1 percent of GDP in the quarter, increased by 1.4 percent over a year earlier, the data showed.

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As for the major components of investment income inflow, direct investment income rose by 2.8 percent year-on-year thanks to the increase in earnings of some prominent local enterprises from their direct investment abroad. Portfolio investment income saw a 7.4 percent rise mainly due to the increase in interest income received by resident investors from their holdings of non-resident debt securities.

An analysis by country or territory shows that the Chinese mainland continued to be the largest source of the special administrative region’s total primary income inflow in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for 38.8 percent. The mainland was followed by the British Virgin Islands (BVI), with a share of 16.0 percent.

Regarding total primary income outflow, the mainland and the BVI remained the most important destinations in Q1, accounting for 30.1 percent and 20.6 percent, respectively.