THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 1983
THE REPORT POINTS OUT THAT, ON PRESENT INDICATIONS, ECONOMIC GROWTH IN 1983 WILL BE EXPORT-LED.
COMMENTING ON THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION, THE REPORT SAYS THAT AS A RESULT OF THE STRENGTHENING IN DOMESTIC EXPORT PERFORMANCE AND A REVIVAL IN MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY, BOTH THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND THE UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE FELL IN THE SECOND QUARTER, TO 4.4 PER CENT AND 1.9 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.
THE CORRESPONDING RATES IN THE FIRST QUARTER WERE 5.1 PER CENT AND 2.5 PER CENT,
THE RATE OF INFLATION, IN TERMS OF THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A), PICKED UP SLIGHTLY, FROM A YEAR-ON-YEAR RATE OF INCREASE OF NINE PER CENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER TO 10 PER CENT IN THE SECOND QUARTER.
IN THE FIRST HALF, THE INCREASE WAS 9.4 PER CENT. THE REPORT, HOWEVER, COMMENTS THAT THE DEPRECIATION OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR DURING THE FIRST HALF OF 1983 MAY RESULT IN A RATHER FASTER RATE OF CONSUMER PRICE INCREASE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR.
THE REPORT REVIEWS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR. APART FROM GIVING AN OVERALL VIEW, IT ALSO CONTAINS INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS ON THE EXTERNAL SECTOR, THE FINANCIAL SECTOR, THE LABOUR SECTOR, ACTIVITY IN SELECTED SECTORS AND PRICES.
ON THE EXTERNAL SECTOR, THE REPORT POINTS OUT THAT THE YEAR- ON-YEAR GROWTH RATE IN REAL TERMS OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS ACCELERATED FROM THREE PER CENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER TO ROUGHLY 14 PER CENT IN THE SECOND QUARTER.
AS THE ECONOMIES OF HONG KONG'S MAJOR EXPORT MARKETS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE DURING THE REST OF THE YEAR, DOMESTIC EXPORT PERFORMANCE IS LIKELY TO REMAIN STRONG IN THE COMING MONTHS.
CONSISTENT WITH THIS VIEW IS THE SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN RETAINED IMPORTS OF RAW MATERIALS AND SEMI-MANUFACTURES IN THE SECOND QUARTER AND THE CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT IN MANUFACTURERS' ORDER-BOOK POSITIONS.
THE REPORT FURTHER NOTES THAT RE-EXPORTS IN THE FIRST HALF WERE ABOUT SEVEN PER CENT HIGHER IN REAL TERMS THAN IN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.
THE YEAR-ON-YEAR GROWTH RATE IN REAL TERMS INCREASED FROM TWO PER CENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER TO AN ESTIMATED 11 PER CENT IN THE SECOND QUARTER.
IMPORTS ALSO RECOVERED IN THE FIRST HALF, RECORDING A YEAR- ON-YEAR GROWTH RATE IN REAL TERMS OF ABOUT FOUR PER CENT. THIS WAS MADE UP OF A DECLINE OF ONE PER CENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER AND AN INCREASE OF ABOUT NINE PER CENT IN THE SECOND QUARTER.
/COMPARING THE