After several years of adjustment, Hong Kong is on the growth path again, a latest Macroeconomic Forecast indicates Hong Kong's economy will continue to grow this year with a GDP expansion of 6.14 percent.

The economic forecast, commissioned by The Better Hong Kong Foundation, is managed by the Center for Economic Development of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

George Yuen, Chief Executive of The Better Hong Kong Foundation,said in the Forecast released Thursday that "It is heartening to see figures once again show us a more robust projection, with our GDP growth forecast for 2005 has been revised from 6 to 6.14 percent."

"This remarkable performance is underpinned by buoyant domestic consumption and investment markets as a result of Chinese mainland's preferential support, complemented by the anticipated growth ofour major trading partners, in particular the mainland and the US, and the continued strengthening of intra-regional integration. Oureconomy is now in its brightest since the financial turmoil of 1997-98," Yuen said.

Besides the GDP growth, other indicators also showed a bright outlook: unemployment rate has continued to drop, with the end-year at 5.75 percent; price level would continue to rise, with Composite Consumer Price Index would reach 2.45 percent by the year-end; and exports growth is expected to be at 12.3 percent.

Professor Francis Lui, Director of the Center for Economic Development commented, "With the latest revisal of our GDP growth forecast from 6 to 6.14 percent, we can further confirm that Hong Kong economy is now on its stage of consolidation and robust growth."

The job market has shown buoyancy, with a continued decrease inunemployment rate. Professor William Chow, co-partner of the project, saw this decrease has been one of the most significant achievements in the economy during the past few months.

"During the recent years, the unemployment rate has showed a cyclical movement: declines in several quarters, followed by a rebound. However the continued decrease in the past few months has indicated that the labor market has broken away from that pattern,owing to abundance of consumption and investment opportunities resulted from the overall economic recovery," Chow said.

According to the forecast, moderate inflation would likely be an important feature of Hong Kong economy this year. The inflation rate by the year end would be 2.45 percent. Inflation at this moderate level is highly desirable, Lui said.

Yuen concluded by saying, "The latest forecast has further strengthened our promising outlook, with the GDP growth being revised upwards again. The spectacular performance of our economy is attributed to the continuous and concerted efforts of every sector of society in coping with different kind of challenges in the past few years."

Source: Xinhua