China's net gold imports via Hong Kong in March rose about 40% from the previous month, Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department data showed on Thursday.

Net imports into the world's top gold consumer stood at 55.836 metric tons in March, compared with 39.826 tons in February, the data showed.

Total gold imports via Hong Kong were up about 40.2% at 63.499 tons. (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad and Swati Verma in Bengaluru Editing by David Goodman )