Hong Kong Q1 GDP rises 7.9% year on year after six quarters of contraction

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong's economy grew a revised 7.9 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the government said on Friday, snapping six consecutive quarters of annual contractions, boosted by a lower coronavirus threat and mainland China's recovery.

The first quarter's pace compares with a decline of 2.8 per cent in the previous quarter. On a quarterly basis, the economy grew a revised seasonally adjusted 5.4 per cent for the January-March period, up from a 0.5 per cent growth in the previous quarter.

The government also maintained the real GDP forecast for 2021 as a whole of 3.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent growth.

"Yet, the actual outturn can hopefully be near the upper end of the range forecast if the pandemic situation improves in the period ahead," the government said in a statement.

REUTERS