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| HK economy to grow 1.5％ in 2003 |
| CCTV.COM 2003-05-31 13:05:52 |
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The Hong Kong S.A.R. government has unveiled an economic report predicting that the economy in the Special Administrative Region will grow by 1.5 percent this year. Also on Friday, the International Monetary Fund released a report that projected Hong Kong's 2003 real GDP growth at 2.2 percent.
The S.A.R. government's economic report shows that Hong Kong's economy has witnessed an obvious recovery since the end of last year. In the first quarter of 2003, Hong Kong's GDP grew by 4.5 percent, mostly driven by an increase in foreign trade.
However, the economy suffered big losses due to the outbreak of SARS in mid－March, which hit the tourism sector and affected domestic consumption especially hard.
Taking this into account, the SAR government has lowered its 2003 forecast of GDP growth to 1.5 percent from its previous projection of 3 percent. Meanwhile, it welcomes the IMF's latest report on HK as "fair" and "balanced". The IMF report says the Hong Kong economy has begun to show signs of recovery from a cyclical downturn.
"The government will work out various measures to revitalize the economy. On Friday, Hong Kong's Legislative Council approved governmental appropriations of 1 billion HK dollars to support the government," said Antony Leung, Hong Kong's financial secretary.
He also says he is encouraged by the World Health Organization's recent decision to lift the travel advisory imposed on Hong Kong, and expressed confidence in Hong Kong's future.
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Editor: Han Ling CCTV.com
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