While briefing the Legislative Council on Monday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po estimated Hong Kong’s GDP growth will stay at 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent this year, based on the latest developments of the global and local economies.
Hong Kong’s economy grew moderately by 2.7 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of growth.
As the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has promoted a “mega event” economy, the further recovery of inbound tourism supported the export of services. Visitor arrivals rebounded to 11.23 million in the first quarter
Despite the challenges posed by changing consumption patterns, rising employment earnings and the government’s initiatives to boost sentiment have bolstered private consumption, which increased by 1 percent in the first three months.
Exports of services remained a key driver of economic growth in the first quarter, with a notable year-on-year increase of 8.4 percent in real terms.
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As the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has promoted a “mega event” economy, the further recovery of inbound tourism supported the export of services. Visitor arrivals rebounded to 11.23 million in the first quarter.
Moreover, the financial chief said the government is striving to increase the duty-free allowance for visitors from the Chinese mainland as well as the number of mainland cities under the Individual Visit Scheme.
The scheme now covers 59 cities after the latest eight cities on the Chinese mainland were included on May 27.
As to the export of goods, Chan said he expected it would improve further if external demand continued to improve, though geopolitical tensions would bring uncertainties. Meanwhile, a prolonged period of tight financial environment may affect confidence and activities in the local economy.
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Responding to progress in the capital market, Chan said that the SAR government is working at top speed to implement the five measures introduced by the China Securities Regulatory Commission in April.
On the heels of the announcement of these policies strengthening connections between Hong Kong and the mainland capital markets, Hong Kong’s stock market has registered a prominent rebound in both price index and transaction volume.
In general, Chan forecast that Hong Kong’s economy will record further growth in the rest of the year. The government will announce an updated assessment of economic growth for the year by mid-August.
