Hong Kong's GDP seen to rise 2.5pc in second quarter

The University of Hong Kong expects the city’s real gross domestic product to rise by 2.5 percent in the second quarter of this year, while projecting a 1.6 percent growth in the first quarter amid escalating China-US trade uncertainties.

In a report, the APEC Studies Programme of the Hong Kong Institute of Economics and Business Strategy at HKU anticipates that the city's overall economic growth this year will lie between 2.5 percent and 3.0 percent.

The unemployment rate will remain at 3.2 percent during the first two quarters in 2025, the report said.

Local private consumption expenditure is expected to grow by 1.9 percent in the second quarter of 2025, boosted by mild inflation and interest rate cuts.

STAFF REPORTER