ENG-2015 — Page 62

Chapter 3

The Economy

The Hong Kong economy grew modestly in 2015, confined mainly by sluggish trade flows amid a slow-growing global economy. Domestic demand remained resilient, keeping the labour market largely stable. In tandem with softer import prices and tamed domestic cost pressures, inflation continued to subside.

The Hong Kong economy remained on a modest growth path in 2015, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanding 2.4 per cent in real terms, slower than the 2.6 per cent growth in 2014 and the annual average growth of 3.4 per cent in the past decade. In terms of the quarterly profile, the year-on-year growth rate of real GDP picked up from 2.4 per cent in the first quarter to 2.9 per cent in the second quarter, before moderating to 2.2 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively in the third and fourth quarters (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

6

4

2

0

-2

-4

-6

-8

-10

M

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

The Hong Kong economy continued to grow modestly in 2015.

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