Hong Kong economy expands 4.1 pct in Q3

HONG KONG, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Boosted by inbound tourism and private consumption, the Hong Kong economy continued recovery in the third quarter of this year, growing 4.1 percent year on year, official data showed Friday.

The growth rate picked up from an increase of 1.5 percent in the second quarter, according to the Third Quarter Economic Report 2023 released by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

Thanks to the HKSAR government's various consumption-driven initiatives, private consumption expenditure jumped 6.3 percent year on year in the third quarter, while overall investment expenditure rebounded sharply by 18.4 percent against a low base of comparison.

Total exports of goods declined further by 8.6 percent year on year in real terms in the third quarter amid weak external demand for goods.

The labor market improved further in the third quarter, with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declining from 2.9 percent in the second quarter to 2.8 percent, and the underemployment rate edged down from 1.1 percent to 1 percent.

The HKSAR government revised down the real GDP growth forecast for 2023 to 3.2 percent from the previous forecast of 4 percent to 5 percent.

Consumer price inflation stayed moderate in overall terms, with the underlying Composite Consumer Price Index rising by 1.6 percent year on year in the third quarter, compared with the 1.7 percent increase in the preceding quarter.

Adolph Leung, an HKSAR government economist, said that inbound tourism and private consumption will continue to underpin economic growth for the rest of the year, while the difficult external environment amid increasing geopolitical tensions and tight financial conditions would continue to weigh on exports of goods and investment and consumption sentiment.

On the inflation outlook, overall inflation would stay moderate in the near term, the report said. The HKSAR government also revised down the forecast rates of underlying and headline consumer price inflation for 2023 to 1.8 percent and 2.2 percent respectively, from 2.0 percent and 2.4 percent in the August round of review.