Hong Kong raises GDP growth forecast to 3.2% amid ‘robust’ economic performance
Finance chief Paul Chan attributes figure to stronger-than-expected performance in first three quarters and slight de-escalation of US-China tensions
The Hong Kong government has revised its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2025 from 2 to 3 per cent to 3.2 per cent, with the finance chief attributing the higher projection to better-than-expected performance in the first three quarters and a positive outlook after a slight de-escalation of the US-China trade war.
The Census and Statistics Department on Friday revealed that it upgraded the real GDP forecast for 2025 to 3.2 per cent, taking into account the actual outturn of 3.3 per cent in the first three quarters of the year and the near-term outlook.
The department also announced a revised figure of 3.8 per cent GDP growth in the third quarter, in line with an advanced estimate revealed by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po last month.
He had previously forecast during his 2025-26 budget speech in February that Hong Kong’s economy would continue to grow moderately by 2 to 3 per cent for the year.
Chan on Friday explained the revised figure, saying that Hong Kong’s economy was growing steadily despite facing a constantly changing and highly uncertain external environment.
“We revised our forecast for full-year economic growth upwards to 3.2 per cent, to reflect the better-than-expected real growth in the first three quarters of this year and the positive outlook from the slight de-escalation of the US-China trade war,” he wrote in a social media post.