Tourism fuels sharp upswing in Hong Kong
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Tourism fuels sharp upswing in Hong Kong Date: 4/11/03
Financial Times 28 November 2003
Hong Kong's economy swung out of recession in the third quarter, helped by a flood of mainland Chinese tourists and a rise in exports.
Gross domestic product jumped 4 per cent compared with the year before, and follows a 0.5 per cent decline in the second quarter. The economy grew 6.4 per cent on a seasonally adjusted, quarter-to-quarter basis.
The growth confirms Hong Kong's rapid economic recovery from a debilitating outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome earlier this year.
Economic indicators in the former British colony have been steadily improving in recent months but the latest GDP rebound was faster than some analysts had expected.
"What we are seeing in Hong Kong is what we have been seeing around the region since September - activity indicators surprisingly on the upside [of expectations]," said Tim Condon, ING's chief economist for Asia.
Mainland visitors - who have been arriving in droves since this summer's relaxation of visa restrictions - helped spur the first increase in consumer spending in two years. Spending by individuals was up 2 per cent year-on-year.
Exports of goods rose 9.8 per cent in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2002 while service exports increased 6.9 per cent.
The strongest export growth went to fuel China's galloping economy, while shipments to the US slipped 6.3 per cent.
However, deflation and joblessness - Hong Kong's two economic headaches - persisted. Deflation has dogged the territory for five consecutive years, with the consumer price index falling 3.6 per cent in the third quarter. Analysts expect some improvement in prices over the next year.
The unemployment rate, which fell to 8 per cent in the August-October period, was nevertheless 8.3 per cent in the third quarter.
Andrew Look, head of Hong Kong research at UBS, said that although the outlook for 2004 was good, structural problems in the economy - including a widening income gap - would still require a "painful adjustment".
The government confirmed its estimate of 3 per cent GDP growth for the full year.
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Tourism fuels sharp upswing in Hong Kong
Financial Times 28 November 2003
Hong Kong's economy swung out of recession in the third quarter, helped by a flood of mainland Chinese tourists and a rise in exports. (16/12/2003)
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China publishes Silk Road album
Xinhua 1 November 2003 A picture album of China's ancient Silk Road was officially published in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The album was a joint project of the Tourism Bureau (16/12/2003)
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