FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1990
1 -
HALF-YEARLY ECONOMIC REPORT PUBLISHED
EARLY
EXPORTS, ON THE
IMPETUS TO GROWTH,
ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1990 REMAINED SLOW. AND DOMESTIC DEMAND WERE AFFECTED, ALTHOUGH DOMESTIC EXPORTS WERE SOME
SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT IN THE SECOND OTHER HAND, WERE ROBUST, PROVIDING A SIGNIFICANT THE HALF-YEARLY ECONOMIC REPORT 1990 SAID.
BOTH
QUARTER.
THERE RE-
THE REPORT, ANALYSING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR, WAS PUBLISHED TODAY (FRIDAY).
"THE SLOW-DOWN IN ACTIVITY PROVIDED SOME BREATHING SPACE AGAINST THE CONTINUING CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS IN THE GOVERNMENT ECONOMIST, MR K.Y. TANG, SAID.
ECONOMY, #
THE
"WHILE THE UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATES WERE STILL
LOW, THE OVERALL DEMAND FOR LABOUR WAS LESS INTENSE.
"THE RATE OF CONSUMER PRICE INFLATION HAD ALSO EASED MARGINALLY FROM LAST YEAR, HE POINTED OUT.
MR
LATEST
THE
THE TANG SAID THAT ON THE BASIS OF THIS REPORT AND AVAILABLE INFORMATION, A REVIEW HAD BEEN MADE OF THE FORECASTS OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) AND OF PRICE TRENDS FOR 1990.
REAL WITH
"AS A RESULT OF THIS REVIEW, THE FORECAST GROWTH RATE IN TERMS OF THE GDP IS REVISED DOWNWARDS TO 2.5 PER CENT, COMPARED
HE SAID. THE FORECAST OF 3 PER CENT ANNOUNCED IN THE BUDGET SPEECH,
"THE FORECAST RATE OF INCREASE IN THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) REVISED UPWARDS TO 9.5 PER CENT, COMPARED
THE WITH
PREVIOUS
FORECAST OF 8.5 PER CENT.
IS
"THE FORECAST RATE OF INCREASE IN THE GDP DEFLATOR REMAINS UNCHANGED AT 9 PER CENT," MR TANG SAID.
CONTINUED
TO
IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1990, DOMESTIC EXPORTS DECREASE, BY ABOUT 3 PER CENT IN REAL TERMS OVER A YEAR EARLIER.
ANALYSED BY MARKETS, DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE UNITED
THE
BY LARGEST DECREASE IN REAL TERMS, FOLLOWED RECORDED JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES.
KINGDOM THOSE TO
DOMESTIC
THE
DOMESTIC
DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO CHINA, HOWEVER, ROSE MARGINALLY. EXPORTS TO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY SHOWED LITTLE CHANGE. UNITED STATES WAS STILL THE LARGEST MARKET FOR HONG KONG'S EXPORTS, WITH A SHARE OF 30 PER CENT IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1990.
"THE DECLINE IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS SHOULD, NEVERTHELESS, VIEWED AGAINST THE CONTINUED RAPID INCREASE IN RE-EXPORTS ORIGIN," MR TANG SAID.
BE
OF CHINA
/"A LARGE