XN000022-1994-08-08 — Page 7

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 1994

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT:

PRELIMINARY ESTIMATE FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1994

AND REVISED ESTIMATES FOR 1992 AND 1993

HONG KONG'S GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) GREW BY 5.5% IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1994 IN REAL TERMS OVER THE SAME QUARTER IN 1993, ACCORDING TO THE PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES RELEASED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (MONDAY).

AMONG THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF THE GDP ESTIMATES, PRIVATE CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE CONTINUED TO GROW BY 10.6% IN REAL TERMS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1994 OVER THE SAME QUARTER IN 1993. UNDERLYING THIS GROWTH WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN EXPENDITURE ON BOTH CONSUMER GOODS AND SERVICES.

ON THE SAME BASIS OF COMPARISON, GOVERNMENT CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE (DEFINED IN NATIONAL ACCOUNTS TERMS) INCREASED BY 3.1% IN REAL TERMS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1994 OVER THE SAME QUARTER IN 1993.

GROSS DOMESTIC FIXED CAPITAL FORMATION PICKED UP SIGNIFICANTLY TO SHOW AN INCREASE OF 13.2% IN REAL TERMS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1994 OVER A YEAR EARLIER.

WITHIN THIS COMPONENT, EXPENDITURE ON CONSTRUCTION SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF 25.5%, WHILE EXPENDITURE ON MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT RECORDED A MODERATE INCREASE OF 2.3 %.

REGARDING EXTERNAL TRADE IN GOODS, TOTAL EXPORTS GREW BY 7.5% IN REAL TERMS, WHILST IMPORTS GREW BY 8.1% IN REAL TERMS OVER THE SAME PERIOD.

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TERMS

AS REGARDS EXPORT OF SERVICES THE GROWTH RATE IN REAL WAS 8.6% IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1994 OVER THE SAME PERIOD IN 1993. THE CORRESPONDING GROWTH RATE FOR IMPORT OF SERVICES WAS 9.7%.

THE IMPLICIT PRICE DEFLATOR OF GDP, AS A BROAD MEASURE OF OVERALL INFLATION IN THE ECONOMY, ROSE BY 8.4% IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1994 OVER THE SAME QUARTER IN 1993.

ALONG WITH THE RELEASE OF THE PRELIMINARY GDP ESTIMATES FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1994, GDP ESTIMATES FOR 1992 AND 1993 HAVE BEEN REVISED, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT LATEST DATA SOURCES, INCLUDING MAINLY THE RESULTS OF THE 1992 ANNUAL ECONOMIC SURVEYS AND THE 1993 SURVEY OF RE- EXPORT TRADE.

GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE EXTENT OF REVISION IS SMALL. THE REAL GROWTH RATE OF GDP IS SLIGHTLY REVISED UPWARDS FROM 5.3% TO 5.6% FOR 1992, AND FROM 5.5% TO 5.6% FOR 1993.

FOR THE PRODUCTION-BASED GDP, THE REVISED (AUGUST 94) ESTIMATES FOR 1992 SHOW THAT, AMONG THE VARIOUS ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES, "WHOLESALE, RETAIL AND IMPORT/EXPORT TRADES, RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS" ACCOUNTED FOR THE LARGEST SHARE (26.1%) OF GDP, FOLLOWED BY "FINANCING, INSURANCE, REAL ESTATE AND BUSINESS SERVICES" (24.4%), "COMMUNITY SOCIAL AND PERSONAL SERVICES" (15.4%) AND "MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES (13.8%).

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