HONG KONG's economic forecast for full year 2011 sees gross domestic product growth at five per cent after third quarter results were hurt by the European sovereign debt crisis and US financial troubles.

    Inflation was down by a couple of percentage points from August forecast to 5.2 per cent to 5.3 per cent, due to lower global food and commodity prices.

    The 2.2 per cent export slump in the third quarter year on year was the first drop since the fourth quarter of 2009, Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang told Legco's Financial Affairs Committee.

    Hong Kong's gross domestic product grew by 5.6 per cent which is supported by inbound tourism and infrastructure investment buffering external trade declines.

    The revised forecast from August's five to six per cent growth was based on shaky third quarter growth of 4.3 per cent, a decline of 5.3 per cent from the previous quarter.
 

source:www.schednet.com