HK Lowers GDP Forecast for 2001Hong Kong has revised its forecast of growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2001 to three percent, one percent down from the previous forecast of four percent.On a year-on-year comparison, Hong Kong's GDP growth decelerated further to 2.5 percent in real terms in the first quarter of 2001, from 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2000, said local government press release Friday. The deterioration in the external environment was the main reason for the slow-down of the Hong Kong economy in the first quarter. Another factor was the distinctly higher base of comparison in the first quarter of 2000, when GDP attained its fastest growth in the past 13 years. the release said. Externally, merchandise exports were hit by the fall-off in global demand upon the distinct setback in demand in the United States. Total exports of goods grew by only 4.2 percent in real terms in the first quarter of 2001 over a year earlier, as exports to the United States and the European Union both fell slightly, and exports to East Asia decelerated considerably in growth, the release said. |
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