HONG KONG'S economy is on course to grow by 5.7 per cent this year, Mr Patten said. But while he described this as a healthy level, it shows a slackening from the revised figures for last year.
The provisional gross domestic growth figures for 1993 had shown the economy growing at 5.6 per cent, but a special revision published in August showed a true growth of 5.9 per cent.
Unless there is a later adjustment to 1994's actual outcome, this shows a slight deceleration in Hong Kong's progress.
Despite the sharp jump in inflation seen last month, the Government is standing by its forecast that the year-on-year rate for 1994 will be held down to last year's level of 8.5 per cent.
Mr Patten gave this assurance yesterday and said he had always warned that inflation was a major cause for concern.
But no mention was made in the address of any plans to revise the Government's method of measuring inflation, although there is a growing criticism that the Consumer Price Index (A), which the Government uses as its main indicator, is increasingly out of line with real costs and increases.
