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Another year of sustained growth in HK's economy
Robust growth in East Asian economies and promising external environment bode well for Hong Kong to enjoy another year of sustained growth in 1996, the Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, said today (Wednesday).
Speaking at a luncheon of the British Chamber of Commerce, Mr Tsang pointed out that the major industrialised economies were expected to show steady improvement in economic performance in 1996 and 1997.
He said China was expected to settle at a more stable growth of eight to nine per cent with moderate inflation and even the Japanese economy was climbing out from the doldrums.
"Interest rates generally show signs of stabilising. I expect the Presidential election in the United States in November to boost demand," he said.
"The external environment thus looks promising for a further sustained growth in our exports of goods and services, except that the recent rebound of the US dollar could impact on our export competitiveness in the early part of this year."
Investment would remain intensive, although the incremental growth would unlikely be as marked as in 1995, and there would likely be a mild revival in consumer spending in the latter part of 1996, Mr Tsang said.
"Overall, I remain optimistic that we will enjoy another year of sustained growth, with probably somewhat better performance in the latter half," he added.
Turning to the longer-term development. Mr Tsang said he was encouraged to see the consensus among our analysts that Hong Kong would remain the centre of trade, with excellent potential for further growth.
"The trend to global trade liberalisation as endorsed by the World Trade Organisation and Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) will unleash enormous opportunities for trade and investment," he said.
A task force has been established to review what the Government can do to support the further expansion of the service sectors, and to enhance Hong Kong's position as a major financial centre in the region.
Mr Tsang said Hong Kong's economic prospects seemed to revolve round three key issues: growth, employment and inflation.