Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday that Hong Kong’s current economic momentum has not come easily, and the city must set a clear course for sustained high-quality development in the next stage.
Chan reiterated his confidence in Hong Kong achieving its full-year economic growth target of 3.5 to 4.5 percent this year at a LegCo meeting, after the city recorded its strongest half-year economic performance in the past five years, with gross domestic product expanding 5.1 percent.
The HKSAR will actively integrate into the national 15th five-year plan, seeking to contribute to China's development amid the global changes not seen in a century, while securing Hong Kong's long-term growth, he said.
The government will also closely monitor inflation trends across major economies, policy directions of major central banks, and the risks arising from trade protectionism and the artificial intelligence boom, he added.
Hong Kong's economy continued its expansion pace in the third quarter, Chan noted, citing the 52 percent growth in the city's exports in August.
The number of visitors to Hong Kong increased 9 percent year on year in the third quarter, bringing nearly 41 million visitors to Hong Kong for the first nine months, Chan said.
Retail sales kept climbing for 16 consecutive months, with a steady increase of 5.1 percent in August, he said.
The labour market also remains stable, with a jobless rate of 3.8 percent in the June to August period, while citizens' income keeps growing, he added.
In the property sector, Hong Kong's home prices have jumped 7 percent year-to-date, while rents went up 5 percent so far this year, Chan noted.
He pointed out that Hong Kong's stock market saw average daily turnover rise nearly 10 percent to HK$272.9 billion for the first nine months, while the city welcomed 118 initial public offerings during the period, with the fundraising amount of HK$388 billion that already surpassed the last year's total.
