Hong Kong's economy is expected to grow 5 per cent next year after a robust increase in the range of 5.5 to 6 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF also expected that the budget surplus this year would be higher than the government's original forecast of HK$5.6 billion.
The comments were part of the concluding statements published yesterday following the visit by an IMF mission last month.
The mission said it expected economic growth of 5.5 to 6 per cent this year, and around 5 per cent next year. Near-term risks to this outlook included a sharper slowdown in global demand and a rise in protectionist sentiments towards the mainland, the mission said.
With last year's budget surplus reaching HK$14 billion, or 1 per cent of gross domestic product, the mission believed the budget this year would continue to take advantage of the strong economy.
'The current economic outlook and spending trends suggest this year's output could be above 0.5 per cent of GDP,' the mission said.
