Hong Kong's economic growth unexpectedly accelerated in the first quarter as exports to China and Europe climbed.
Gross domestic product rose 7.1 percent from a year earlier, the government said today at a press conference in Hong Kong, after gaining a revised 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter. That topped the 6 percent median estimate of 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Japan reported today that its economy expanded at a faster pace than economists expected, also because of rising exports to Asia and Europe. Hong Kong's growth will weaken to between 4 percent and 5 percent this year from 6.4 percent in 2007 as global demand slows, the government said.
``Hong Kong will see a sharp deceleration in export growth in the second half when things in other parts of the world slow,'' said Tomo Kinoshita, an economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong. ``Business and consumer sentiment will be affected as well.''
None of the economists surveyed forecast the acceleration. From the previous three months, Hong Kong's economy grew a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent in the first quarter, the government said.
Exports of goods rose 8.3 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, sustained by demand from mainland China, Europe and emerging markets, after climbing 5.7 percent in the previous three months, the government said.
source:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aVc0s6nAN770&refer=asia
