Hong Kong Q2 Economic Growth Improves

(RTTNews) - Hong Kong's economic growth improved in the three months ended June on strong domestic demand, preliminary figures from the Census and Statistics Department showed Friday.

Gross domestic product advanced 2.8 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, faster than previous quarter's stable growth of 2.4 percent, revised up from a 2.1 percent hike reported earlier. Economists had expected a 2.3 percent climb for the quarter.

On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter comparison, real GDP expanded by 0.4 percent in the June quarter, but slower than the 0.7 percent gain in the preceding quarter.

Total exports of goods fell 3.6 percent annually in the second quarter. Private consumption expenditure grew strongly by 6.0 percent, supported by full employment and higher income.

Investment expenditure also rose by 6.5 percent, driven by a significant rebound in building and construction works and further growth in machinery and equipment acquisition.

The government also released its half-yearly Economic Report 2015. The actual growth outturn of 2.6% in the first half, and with the Hong Kong economy poised for further moderate growth in the second half.

The real GDP growth forecast for 2015 as a whole is revised to 2-3 percent in the current round of review, from that of the 1-3 percent in the May round.

On the inflation front, underlying consumer price inflation eased further to 2.5 percent from 2.7 percent in the previous quarter.

"Looking ahead, the global economic outlook in the near term remains mediocre. Among the advanced economies, the US economy is expected to attain moderate growth at best this year. Others still lack growth momentum, plagued by deep-seated structural issues and the crisis legacies," government economist, Helen Chan said.

"The export-dependent Asia has also seen an almost across-the-board growth slowdown, and the ensuing spillovers on Hong Kong's external trade have been visible."

"Against such a backdrop, Hong Kong's exports of goods are expected to remain weak in the near term. The outlook for exports of services is also overshadowed by the weak trend in inbound tourism, as well as subdued trade flows."