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Hong Kong looks set for a booming year if the number of new arrivals is anything to go by. Seven babies were born in the first hour of the new year, the most yet, according to figures gathered since the handover.  
And for a second successive year, a baby born to a mainland couple beat the locals to become the  first New Year's Day arrival. 
A boy, born by natural birth to a Fujian  couple, was delivered at 12.05am yesterday at Hong Kong Baptist Hospital and weighed 3.4kg.  He was followed by a boy born by Caesarean section two minutes later to a Hong Kong couple at Tuen Mun Hospital.   
On January 1 last year, a baby girl was delivered at 12.07am to a Fujian couple at Hong Kong Baptist Hospital. A local baby, also a girl, followed at 12:30am.
The first 2010 newborn's mother,  Zhuo Hongting, said she gave birth in Hong Kong as the family wanted their son to have a good future in the city. 
'I feel very happy... I hope that he will be a talent to contribute to our country. As education is better in Hong Kong, I hope he can have more opportunities  in Hong Kong,' she said. Her son's birth caught her by surprise, coming a day later than the scheduled date. 'I never expected my son to be born on January 1. It is meaningful.'  
Law Mei-chun, 31, the mother of the second baby born yesterday, said: 'I feel excited and very happy. I hope he will have outstanding achievements in the future.' The boy is the first child of her family.   
Records of New Year babies since  1997 show that those born to either one or two mainland parents have been among the newborns since 2002, except for 2007 when only one baby with Hong Kong parents was born during the first hour of the year.
Census and Statistics Department figures show 43 per cent of the 78,822 babies delivered in the city last year were  to mainland mothers. Of those, 7,228 had Hong Kong husbands.
The department's latest population projection shows that of the 2.16 million births forecast between 2006 and 2036, more than 900,000, or 42 per cent, are expected to be to mainland mothers.
A population policy researcher said that with effective government planning, more mainland babies would have a positive impact  on Hong Kong. 
'Without these mainland babies, the problem of the low birth rate in Hong Kong would be  further exacerbated. These babies may drag on welfare resources in the short term, but in the long term they alleviate the ageing of Hong Kong,' said Professor Paul Yip Siu-fai,  of the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong.
 'The crux of the [mainland babies] issue is when they will come back to Hong Kong. Most mainland parents raise their infants in their home city and send them back here for primary education. 
'Based on present statistical data, at least 500 new classes are needed in primary schools if all the mainland babies return to Hong Kong for their education. So the government really needs comprehensive planning to satisfy the huge education need.
'If the city can absorb this number of students, more employment opportunities can be created. Fewer schools would have to be shut down due to under-enrolment too.'
Baby booming
More mainland women are coming to Hong Kong to give birth 
Of the 2.16 million births forecast between 2006 and 2036, more than 900,000 are expected to be to mainland mothers, or this percentage of the total: 42%



2010's first birth goes to  mainland couple again