Chen Maobo: Hong Kong's economy continues to improve, with GDP maintaining steady growth for three consecutive years.

On November 16, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po stated in an article that the Hong Kong economy has continued to improve this year, with local GDP recording a year-on-year growth for 11 consecutive quarters. Hong Kong's GDP in the third quarter of this year increased by 3.8% year-on-year, the highest growth in over a year and a half, with exports, consumption, and investment all showing sustained positive performance. With interest rates trending downwards and the easing of tensions in US-China trade relations, the Hong Kong government is cautiously optimistic about the economic performance in the fourth quarter of this year, hence revising upwards the forecast for full-year economic growth in 2025 to 3.2%, higher than the original forecast level of 2% to 3%. This will mark the third consecutive year of GDP growth post-pandemic. Paul Chan Mo-po mentioned that in the first half of this year, with solid support from the central government, combined efforts of the SAR government and various sectors, Hong Kong has made significant progress. For example, Hong Kong's merchandise exports saw a substantial year-on-year increase of 11.3% in the first three quarters, with exports to the Mainland and ASEAN regions showing particularly strong growth rates of 14.6% and 27.1%, respectively. This has been the result of both favorable developments and years of solid work, including expanding trade partnerships, actively supporting Mainland companies to expand globally, enhancing Hong Kong's role as a dual-way platform, and playing a more critical role in the closer economic and trade relations in the Asia-Pacific region. In recent years, Hong Kong has implemented various reforms in the financial market, including optimizing the listing regime, enhancing market liquidity, and actively attracting funds, family offices, and high-value investors to settle in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's unique advantages under the "one country, two systems" framework, amidst the complex global political and economic landscape, have attracted more international funds to choose Hong Kong as a safe haven and hope to use Hong Kong as a base to better share the opportunities brought about by China's stable economic advancement and rapid technological innovation. Paul Chan Mo-po also mentioned that this year, trading in the stock market, the new stock market, and refinancing market have all been very active. The Hang Seng Index has risen by over 30% this year, with the average daily turnover in the first ten months reaching HK$258 billion, almost doubling from the full year of 2024. During the same period, 81 new listed companies raised nearly HK$216 billion in IPO, more than double compared to the previous year, ranking first globally. In the first ten months of this year, post-listing follow-up financing for companies has reached HK$475 billion. Additionally, since 2022, with the assistance of Invest Hong Kong, over 200 family offices have settled or expanded their business in Hong Kong; as of the end of last year, the total value of assets under management in Hong Kong exceeded HK$35 trillion, representing a 13% year-on-year increase. These positive developments have led to a substantial growth of 11% in Hong Kong's financial services output this year, contributing over 10% to the GDP growth during the same period. With the strong performance of the local economy and financial market, along with the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut starting in September, the property market sentiment has turned positive. Residential prices have increased by 1% in the second quarter and another 2% in the third quarter, marking two consecutive quarters of growth. Since the beginning of the year, property prices have turned positive with a 1.1% increase. Rental rates remain resilient, recording a 3.9% increase year-to-date. Trading activity in October remains active (about 5,700 transactions), staying above the five-year average for eight consecutive months. As for the non-residential property market, though prices and rents are still relatively soft, trading volume has improved compared to a year ago. Recently, there have been companies purchasing office buildings in Hong Kong, with some buying multiple floors or entire buildings, as well as foreign financial institutions increasing their rental of Grade A office floors. Representatives of foreign financial institutions who have recently leased office space in Hong Kong expressed their desire to expand business in Hong Kong amidst the current positive momentum. Additionally, market information indicates that vacancy rates for prime location retail spaces have shown improvement compared to the beginning of the year. The positive performance across various economic sectors, coupled with a 12% increase in visitor arrivals to 41 million in the first ten months, has gradually improved the conditions in the F&B and retail sectors. Private consumption expenditure in the third quarter accelerated slightly, increasing to 2.1% year-on-year, reflecting a gradual recovery in the local market. Based on the overall economic improvement and positive market forecasts, the labor market data to be released this Tuesday is expected to stabilize. To seize the immense opportunities brought by national development and align with the important deployment proposed in the 15th Five-Year Plan, Paul Chan Mo-po stated that they will actively work to consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's position as an international financial, shipping, and trading center, accelerate the construction of an international innovation and technology center, and actively establish Hong Kong as an international high-end talent aggregation center. They aim to better fulfill Hong Kong's role as a "gateway for external resources" and a hub, as well as a strategic platform for Mainland companies to expand globally, while integrating better and serving the national development agenda, promoting the economic and social development of Hong Kong. Paul Chan Mo-po further mentioned that the Hong Kong economy is showing signs of accelerated development and emerging new competitive advantages amidst changing circumstances. Over the past few years, the positive interaction between the executive and legislative branches has provided Hong Kong with the space to focus on development and maintain economic growth on the right track. He encouraged everyone to actively vote in the Hong Kong Legislative Council elections on December 7, to further continue the momentum of development and build a better future.