With bustling streets and growing business during the Labour Day Golden Week, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said first-quarter GDP growth is expected to reach a new five-year high.
Writing in his weekly blog on Sunday, Chan reported that more than 600,000 travellers arrived in the first two days of the mainland holiday, marking a 6 percent jump from last year.
He further pointed to the city’s rebounding tourism, where visitor arrivals in the first quarter surged 17 percent to over 14.3 million, the highest quarterly tally since the pandemic.
Forecasting full-year arrivals to surpass the earlier estimate of 53.8 million, Chan expressed confidence it could drive total tourism-related spending to over HK$240 billion—a 9.5 percent rise from last year.
As for local spending, he cited a year-on-year increase in household consumption for six straight quarters recorded across the city's major e-payment platforms, where retail and dining spending climbed 5.2 percent in the first quarter. .
He also highlighted a strong performance from the city's exports, with a 32 percent surge in value recorded in the first quarter, representing the 25th consecutive month of growth and best performance in five years. Notably, March alone has seen a nearly 36 percent increase.
Considering the pickup in private consumption expenditure, Chan anticipated the first-quarter GDP figures will show faster growth than the revised 4 percent–the biggest growth in five years.
However, he struck a cautious note over the tensions in the Middle East and rising international oil prices, stating the government has rolled out some short-term relief, including diesel subsidies, totaling about HK$2 billion in public funds.
He stressed the government will continue to monitor the situation amid the uncertain business environment, adding that a new series of support measures for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is on the way.
Under a collaboration with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and local banks, he announced there will be measures including dedicated funds, targeted credit support, and flexible loan repayment arrangements for businesses in need.
𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
