Financial Secretary of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Henry Tang is upbeat about the outlook of the city's economic growth, but stressed challenges for sustained growth.

Speaking at the Legislative Council Financial Affairs Panel Monday, Tang said the government's projection for this year's GDP growth has been revised upward to 7 percent from 4.5-5.5 percent.

Driven by a robust growth of 8.2 percent in the third quarter of this year, the HKSAR raised forecast for the whole year economic growth in late November, the official said.

The private sectors and analysts also expected the economy to keep strong expansion in the rest of this year, but warned of eased growth in the next year for the uncertainties of global economy.

The International Monetary Fund forecast the Hong Kong economy to grow 4.5-5 percent in 2006, while private sector analysts are predicting 4-5 percent.

Admitting local economy will be affected by unknown factors, Tang refrained from predicting next year's GDP growth and said the forecast would come out in February.

However, he noted that Hong Kong still faced with challenges to maintain the momentum of economic expansion, especially in terms of strategic development.

"This is something we need to examine and form strategic directions on how we can make Hong Kong a center for talent in the whole region," Tang was quoted by a government press release as saying.

Source: Xinhua