ENG-2014 — Page 65

Chapter 3

The Economy

The Hong Kong economy continued to grow below-trend in 2014. The slow global economic recovery weighed on exports of goods, while tourist spending and domestic demand also weakened. The labour market was largely stable, while inflation continued

to ease.

The Hong Kong economy remained on a modest expansion path in 2014, with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanding modestly by 2.3 per cent in real terms, slower than the 2.9 per cent growth in 2013 and the annual average growth of 3.9 per cent in the past decade. In terms of the quarterly profile, the year-on-year growth rate of real GDP slowed to 2.6 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively in the first and second quarters, followed by a rebound to 2.7 per cent in the third quarter, before moderating to 2.2 per cent in the fourth quarter (Chart 1).

Chart 1

Quarterly Gross Domestic Product (year-on-year rate of change)

Per cent

20

18

16

Nominal GDP

14

Real GDP

12

10

8

104

6

2

0

-2

-4

-6

-8

-10

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

The Hong Kong economy remained on a modest path of expansion in 2014.

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