HK economy grows 9.6pc in first quarter

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HONG KONG, June 17 (Xinhua): Hong Kong's economy continued to expand fast in the first quarter with its gross domestic product (GDP) mounting 9.6 per cent to 409.3 billion HK dollars (52.47 billion US dollars), according to latest figures released by the Census and Statistics Department here yesterday.

Meanwhile, the gross national product (GNP) rose 6.5 per cent from the same period of last year to 427.3 billion HK dollars (54. 78 billion US dollars) during the first three months, according to the department.

Compared with GDP, the value of Hong Kong's GNP grew by 18 billion HK dollars (2.31 billion US dollars) representing a net external factor income inflow of the same amount, and equivalent to 4.4 per cent of the economy's GDP in that quarter.

After netting out the effect of price changes, Hong Kong's GNP rose 4 per cent in real terms, lower than the corresponding rise of 7.1 per cent of GDP.