Paul Chan: Hong Kong's Q3 economic performance will exceed market expectations.

On November 1, Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR Government, said in a blog post that next Tuesday, Hong Kong will release the advance estimate of GDP for the third quarter of this year. On a preliminary basis, supported by faster export growth and solid domestic demand, year-on-year economic growth in the third quarter is expected to be higher than market expectations, with growth accelerating from the second quarter; Hong Kong will also record positive growth for the 15th consecutive quarter. For the first three quarters combined, the year-on-year growth rate of real GDP was the largest for the same period in five years. As the economy maintains good momentum, the full-year economic growth forecast is also expected to be revised upward again. Paul Chan Mo-po pointed out that technological innovation is an important DRIVE of this round of growth. The global AI investment boom continues, driving strong demand for high-end electronic components and AI-related goods. The relevant production and supply chains in Asia are deeply integrated and highly competitive, and Hong Kong also benefits. The value of Hong Kong's merchandise exports in September surged 64.9% year on year, recording double-digit growth for the 20th consecutive month, with the single-month increase hitting a more than 40-year high. Among them, the export value of "office machines and automatic data processing instruments" soared 183.7%. On investment, private investment expenditure has recorded double-digit growth for three consecutive quarters, and the momentum continued into the third quarter of this year, reflecting corporate confidence in the outlook. Services output also benefited from the continued growth of inbound tourism, buoyant cross-border transport and active financial markets. The upcoming retail and catering receipts figures will also continue to record moderate growth. On the job market, with steady economic growth, workers' real incomes have risen. However, external unstable and uncertain factors, including the geopolitical and economic situation and the direction of major central banks' monetary policies, persist, and the government will continue to closely monitor market conditions. Paul Chan Mo-po disclosed that in the coming days, the Wan Chai Convention and Exhibition area and the Central district will be especially bustling. Two major international financial events - "Hong Kong Fintech Week" and the "Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit" - and related activities will kick off simultaneously tomorrow. Fintech industry participants and investors from more than 100 economies worldwide, as well as the heads of top international financial institutions, will gather in Hong Kong to discuss focal issues in the current global financial markets and technological development, and to identify and create new investment opportunities through high-level exchanges. This year's Hong Kong Fintech Week x StartmeupHK 2026, themed "Fintech Hub: Connecting the World, Building the Future," will run for five days and is expected to bring together more than 120 economies and 45,000 participants; during the event, the Hong Kong government and financial regulators will announce a series of new initiatives on AI governance, tokenization, and payment connectivity. The concurrently held Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, themed "Thinking Anew, Opening New Horizons," will bring together about 280 international financial leaders, including the chairmen and chief executives of 120 leading financial institutions, with AI computing power and investment trends as a core discussion topic. The fifth "Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit" activities include tomorrow's welcome dinner, the summit on Tuesday, and the "Conversation with International Investors" on Wednesday co-hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Academy of Finance. The series of events will bring together about 280 international financial leaders, including about 120 group chairmen and chief executives of the world's top financial institutions.