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| No.3 June, 2011 |
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Hong Kong's first quarter GDP grew 7.2% |
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 The strong momentum in Hong Kong's economy continued in the year's first quarter, with real Gross Domestic Product leaping 7.2% year on year, Government Economist Helen Chan announced on May 13.
Growth in the first quarter was slightly higher than the already appreciable 7% growth for 2010 as a whole, she said, noting that the fifth consecutive quarter growth was distinctly above the average annual growth over the past 10 years.
On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, Gross Domestic Product grew by 2.8% in real terms.
Mrs Chan said the external environment has held up well so far this year as the global economy has continued to expand, led by the thriving Asian and emerging economies.
Yet uncertainties in the external environment still abound which will pose some downside risks to Hong Kong's external trade, possibly causing export growth to slow in the coming quarters.
She said that with real Gross Domestic Product churning out a stronger-than-expected 7.2% year-on-year growth in the first quarter, and even allowing for some moderation in the rest of the year, the economy is poised for a real growth of 5%-6% for this year as a whole. This has been revised upwards by one percentage point from the 4%-5% forecast announced in February. Most private sector analysts are currently projecting the economy to expand by 4.5%-6%, averaging at around 5.2%.
Underlying consumer price inflation, which nets out the effect of the Government's relief measures to reflect the inflation trend more accurately, rose to 3.7% in the first quarter from 2.4% in the fourth quarter of last year. The further increase in the recent price pressure was the result of rising imported inflation and local costs.
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