News Capsules

Brisk Expansion for Hong Kong Economy 
The Hong Kong economy has continued to expand, with growing by 6.8% in real terms in the second quarter of 2005, expanding for the eighth straight quarter.

Merchandise exports grew by 11.1% in real terms over a year earlier, thanks to the sustained expansion of the global economy as well as the Mainland's strong trade flows. Exports of services also grew noticeably further, by 7.8% in real terms.

On the domestic front, private consumption expenditure grew by 2.7% in real terms in the second quarter over a year earlier, on the back of improving labour market conditions and positive wealth effect. 

The broad-based economic expansion also gave a further boost to job creation. Total employment rose to an all-time high in the three months ending July. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.7% in the second quarter, the lowest since the third quarter of 2001. 

The trade outlook for the rest of the year is for further solid growth in exports of both goods and services and the Hong Kong economy is expected to have no difficulty in attaining the forecast GDP growth in real terms at 4.5-5.5% for 2005 as released in the Budget and the May rounds. 


Rise in Exports & Imports 
The values of Hong Kong's total exports and imports of goods both showed year-on-year increases in July 2005. 

The value of total exports of goods (comprising re-exports and domestic exports) increased by 8.1% over a year earlier to $198.4 billion, after a year-on-year increase of 12.6% in June. Within this total, the value of re-exports increased by 8.6% to $186.6 billion in July, while the value of domestic exports increased by 0.5% to $11.8 billion. 

Concurrently, the value of imports of goods increased by 6.5% over a year earlier to $201.6 billion in July 2005, after a year-on-year increase of 10.5% in June. 

For the first seven months of 2005 as a whole, the value of total exports of goods rose by 11% over the same period in 2004. Within this total, the value of re-exports increased by 12.1%, while the value of domestic exports decreased by 5.3%. 

Concurrently, the value of imports of goods increased by 8.7%. 

Comparing July 2005 with July 2004, increases were registered in the values of re-exports to most major destinations, in particular the Netherlands (+42.6%), France (+29.9%), Germany (+21.5%), UK(+14.1%) and USA(+7.1%). Increases were registered in the values of domestic exports to many major destinations, in particular Japan (+96.0%), the Netherlands (+61.4%) and Australia (+56.8%). 


Hong Kong: Best Airline & Airport
Hong Kong is now home to the world's best airline and the world's best airport, according to millions of travellers worldwide who voted in recent polls conducted by UK-based Skytrax Research. 

Cathay Pacific accepted the award of Airline of the Year 2005 and Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) collected its award for Airport of the Year 2005 at a ceremony held in London on 5 September 2005. 

London-based Skytrax said its 2005 World Airline Awards poll was the world's largest passenger survey with more than 12.3 million eligible nominations. Votes were cast by 94 different nationalities between June 2004 and May 2005. 

This is the 5th consecutive win for the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), managed by AA. For Cathay Pacific Airways, this is the airline’s second win in three years. Cathay Pacific also won titles for Best Airline Asia, Best First Class and Best Airline Lounges in this year's poll. 


Hong Kong Joins Pan-PRD Intellectual Property Agreement
The Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions have joined the IP cooperation agreement concluded between the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan. 

Mr Stephen Selby, Director of Intellectual Property, representing the Hong Kong SAR Government at the signing ceremony, said, "Trade and investment between the Mainland and Hong Kong have been greatly enhanced as a result of the implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement. The establishment of a mechanism for Pan-PRD regional IP cooperation is expected to facilitate further economic cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong." 

Director General of Sichuan Intellectual Property Office, Huang Feng, noted that the agreement “strengthens the order of market economy, speeds up business and technology transfer, fosters growth of inter-regional investment and boosts the joint economic development of the Pan-PRD region."


Shopping Fest Shatters Records
Some 4.6 million visitors came to Hong Kong during the 2005 Hong Kong Shopping Festival, June 25 to August 31. Organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), the 10-week Mega Event attracted overwhelming merchant participation and close to six million lucky draw entries, the latter being equivalent to HK$1.85 billion of spending, 24% more than in 2004. 

The promotion also enabled Hong Kong’s tourism industry to maintain its record-breaking performance. Fuelled by strong growth from long-haul markets, arrivals in July reached 2.1 million, the highest July total ever. 

HKTB Chairman, Mrs Selina Chow, said the encouraging results showcased the irresistible global appeal of Hong Kong’s shopping experience. “One of the remarkable achievements is the record performance in July, which is traditionally a low tourism season,” she remarked. 

“We’re most encouraged by the fact that the growth has spread across all regions, and particularly in the long-haul markets, demonstrating that our continued efforts in maintaining a balanced portfolio of visitors are continuing to bear fruit,” Mrs Chow added. She paid tribute to long-haul travel trade partners who contributed to the long-haul market share expansion by launching various promotions and developing Festival packages. 

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