The University of Hong Kong released an economic forecast report on the 6th, indicating that Hong Kong's GDP is expected to grow by 2.2% year-on-year in the third quarter, higher than the forecast of 1.7% made in July. This is mainly due to private consumption expenditure growth exceeding expectations.
The report from the University of Hong Kong points out that the recent appreciation of the US dollar, due to the implementation of a linked exchange rate system pegged to the US dollar, has weakened Hong Kong's external trade competitiveness. The slowdown in the mainland economy has also dragged down Hong Kong's economic growth. In the period following 2015, Hong Kong's economic growth will be driven by local demand. Affected by external trade, it is expected that Hong Kong's economy will grow by 1.9% in the fourth quarter of this year, lower than the growth rate in the third quarter.
The University of Hong Kong anticipates that Hong Kong's economy will grow by 2.6% in the first half of 2015, slowing to 2% in the second half, with an overall economic growth of 2.3% for the year 2015. Among this, local demand growth will contribute 2.6 percentage points to economic growth, while external demand will reduce economic growth by 0.3 percentage points.
Regarding Hong Kong's economy, the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, John Tsang, recently expressed confidence that Hong Kong will continue to prosper and develop. He expects Hong Kong's economic growth for the entire year to be between 2% and 3%. In the medium term, as a developed economy, Hong Kong will maintain a low growth level. It is expected that from 2016 to 2019, Hong Kong's economy will grow at an annual real rate of about 3.5%. (Source: China News Service)