免费日韩片_欧美成人精品一区二区男人小说_国产乱码一区二区三区四区_国产精品国产三级国产aⅴ入口_成人看的污污超级黄网站免费_欧美一级在线免费观看_成人午夜免费无码福利片_国产乱人伦偷精品视频色欲_aaa少妇高潮大片免费看_国产精品1234_亚洲精品国产suv一区88_中文字字幕在线中文无码_精品亚洲区_午夜九九九_国产av国片精品jk制服丝袜_色综合亚洲_亚洲成av人片无码bt种子下载_欧美色就色_精品少妇的一区二区三区四区_男人用嘴添女人下身免费视频

National

Regional

Taiwan, HK, Macao

Special Coverage

Focus

Society

Profiles

Hong Kong's economy to further shrink in first half

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-19 20:29

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's slumping economy will shrink further in the first half of 2009, the territory's leader said Monday, as new data showed an increase in unemployment.

Brokers talk on phone at a brokerage in Hong Kong Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009. Hong Kong's slumping economy will shrink further in the first half of 2009, the territory's leader said Monday, as new data showed an increase in unemployment. [Agencies]

The economy, already in recession, probably contracted again in the fourth quarter and is expected to continue shrinking in the next six months, Chief Executive Donald Tsang said. Whether the local economy recovers thereafter hinges on the effectiveness of various government measures around the world.

Related readings:  Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan stay attractive for travelers  Hong Kong remains world's freest economy  Hong Kong shares rise to four-week high  Survival of Hong Kong cinema rests with independent film makers

"We have a long and difficult road ahead of us in terms of economic recovery," Tsang said at a financial forum in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's economy slid into recession in 2008 for the first time in five years as it contracted in the third quarter.

Gross domestic product fell by 0.5 percent in the July-September quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, marking the second consecutive quarter of contraction after the economy shrank 1.4 recent in the second quarter.

Tsang's dour outlook was reinforced by new figures released Monday showing the territory's unemployment rate rose to 4.1 percent in the October-December period, up from 3.8 percent during the September-November period, according Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department.

Sectors suffering the brunt of job losses were decoration and maintenance, restaurants, import or export trades, transport and manufacturing. The unemployment rate is at its highest since the May-July period in 2007.

Tsang suggested the government would help create more than 60,000 new jobs this year, mostly by fast-tracking infrastructure projects, to cope with the downturn.

With local consumption withering amid the global recession, Hong Kong's economy could contract at rate of 3 percent for all of 2009, investment bank Goldman Sachs said in research note Monday.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate could jump to 6.5 percent by 2010 as companies focused on finance and business, trade services, and retail cut back.

"The three main engines driving the labor market boom in the past few years ... are coming to a halt," Goldman said.