Hong Kong's growth forecast for 2023 revised to 4-5 pct

HONG KONG, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's real GDP growth forecast for 2023 was revised to 4-5 percent from 3.5-5.5 percent in the May round of review, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said on Friday.

According to the Half-yearly Economic Report 2023 released by the HKSAR government, the adjustment was taken into account the actual outturn in the first half of 2023 and various factors. The forecast rates of underlying and headline consumer price inflation for 2023 were revised down to 2-2.4 percent from 2.5-2.9 percent in the May round of review.

Led by inbound tourism and private consumption, the Hong Kong economy continued to recover in the second quarter of this year, and the real GDP grew 1.5 percent year-on-year. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, real GDP fell 1.3 percent, the report said.

Exports of travel services jumped over eight-fold as visitor arrivals surged further. Domestically, private consumption expenditure rose 8.2 percent year-on-year in real terms in the second quarter alongside the continued economic recovery.

Looking ahead inbound tourism and private consumption will remain the major drivers of economic growth for the rest of the year, said Adolph Leung, an HKSAR government economist.