Hong Kong Soars

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It's the combination of lessons from the old-style China trade coupled with modern high technology that has helped Hong Kong remain a force in international commerce. "Rather than being a follower, we're leading the trends," says Peter Solomon, chief executive of Linmark Group, a Hong Kong-- based supply-chain-management company. Someone--someplace--has to be globalization's enabler. Turns out, it's that famous barren rock in the South China Sea.

TRADE WARRIOR

Thanks to its links to China, Hong Kong punches above its weight in international commerce Hong Kong's largest trading partners (2005) Rest of world 27.5% Singapore 4% Taiwan 4.8% Japan 8.2% U.S. 10.5% China 45% Hong Kong's GDP growth rate (2001-06) * Projected [This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine.] Initial publc offerings (2006)

Sources: WTO; Census and Statistics Department (Hong Kong); Thomson Financial