(Reuters) – Hong Kong leader John Lee said the city’s economy grew 2.7% in the first quarter of 2023, ahead of official data due to be released at 0830 GMT on Tuesday, snapping four consecutive quarters of contraction.
“GDP growth in the second quarter will be better than the first quarter,” Chief Executive John Lee told reporters. “The economy this year will be better than last year.”
The latest quarterly figure compared to a 4.1% contraction in the last quarter, Lee said.
Economists from Barclays expected Q1 GDP to contract 0.9%, while Natixis and Hang Seng Bank forecast growth of 1.1% and 2.5%, respectively.
(Reporting by Donny Kwok and Jessie Pang; Editing Anne Marie Roantree, Kim Coghill and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
