News in Brief- (24-09-2018)

September 24, 2018 00:00:00

HK launches high speed rail service

Hong Kong launched its first high-speed railway on Sunday making itself an ideal starting point for multi-destination journeys across China. In particular, the new rail link heralds a major boost to tourism in the Greater Bay Area, according to a Media OutReach-forwarded statement. With frequent direct high-speed trains linking Hong Kong to Shenzhen and Guangzhou in as little as 48 minutes, travelling within the Area will be faster and more convenient than ever before. — FE Desk

Swiss economy

faces headwinds

GENEVA, Sept 23: A latest Swiss government economic forecast described the economy as "booming", but also issued a caution due to "negative risks for the global economy" that have intensified. The report released by the Swiss government, the Federal Council, this week predicted higher-than-expected growth in 2018 as exchange rates improve and unemployment falls, while global trade uncertainties abound and there ispolitical uncertainty in Europe. "GDP (gross domestic product) has risen rapidly over several quarters, employment is on the up and unemployment is falling," said the report. — Xinhua

Macao's industrial

revenue rises

MACAO, Sept 23 : Macao's total revenue of the industrial establishments amounted to 11.54 billion patacas (about 1.43 billion US dollars) in 2017, up by 12.1 per cent year-on-year, the special administrative region's statistic service said here on Saturday. According to the Macao Industrial Survey for 2017 released by Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), the intermediate consumption and compensation of employees totalled 6.10 billion and 2.20 billion patacas respectively (about 757 million and 273 million dollars), up by 12.3 per cent and 6.7 per cent year-on-year. Therefore, the gross surplus, which equals total revenue minus total expenditure (intermediate consumption and compensation of employees), of the industrial sector grew by 15.6 per cent year-on-year to 3.25 billion patacas (about 403 million dollars). — Xinhua