Hong Kong's economy leaped 6.8 percent in 2006, Hong Kong
Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen said in his presentation of
the 2007-2008 Budget to the Legislative Council Wednesday
morning.
Tang said the economy has continuously enjoyed above-trend
growth over the past three years and become more and more
broad-based, registering an average annual increase of 7.6
percent.
Total retail sales for 2006 registered an increase of 23 percent
over those of three years ago. And overall investment has been
accelerating for four years in a row. The overall investment grew 8
percent last year, the biggest rise since 2000, according to the
budget.
The number of negative equity cases in Hong Kong had fallen from
the peak of over 100,000 to 8,400 by the end of 2006, in tandem
with a significant recovery in the property market.
Total visitor arrivals also rose from some 15 million three
years ago to more than 25 million in 2006, an increase of more than
60 percent.
Tang said as at mid-February, Hong Kong stock market's total
capitalization had increased by 300 percent over its 2003
trough.
Along with the strong recovery of the economy, the deflation
that had persisted for years also ended in mid-2004.
With strong economic growth, Tang said the total employment in
Hong Kong has hit new highs successively over the past three years,
with the latest figure close to the 3.5 million mark, up by more
than 310,000 over its low point in 2003. The unemployment rate has
fallen from its peak of 8.5 percent in mid-2003 to a six-year low
of 4.4 percent, Tang said in his budget presentation.
The financial position of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (HKSAR) has improved markedly as a result of strong economic
recovery, Tang said. He estimated that operating expenditure for
2006-2007 will be 195.7 billion HK dollars (US$25.1 billion), a
moderate increase of 1.7 percent over the 2005-2006 figure.
Tang said the government operating expenditure has been
contained within 200 billion HK dollars (about US$25.6 billion) for
three years in a row.
"This is no mean accomplishment," he said.
The government revenue is far higher than expected, Tang said,
due to the strengthening economy, increased corporate profits and
salaries, the buoyant stock market and a stable property
market.
For 2006-2007, Tang forecast surpluses of 38.6 billion HK
dollars (US$4.95 billion) in the Operating Account and 55.1 billion
HK dollars (US$7.1 billion) in the Consolidated Account, both
higher than the government's previous estimates.
"The variances between the revised and original estimates are
essentially due to our economy's better-than-expected performance
over the past 12 months," Tang explained.
Last year, Hong Kong's gross domestic product grew by 6.8 per
cent, significantly higher than the 4 to 5 percent forecast by the
market and the HKSAR government earlier in the year.
According to the budget, investment income and revenue from land
premiums, stamp duty, profits tax and salaries tax alone are about
31 billion HK dollars (about US$4 billion) higher than the original
estimates.
(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2007)