Hong Kong’s economy grew in the first quarter of this year, the territory’s leader said yesterday, ending a disastrous year-long spell in which it was effectively closed for business over COVID-19 restrictions.
The territory’s first-quarter GDP grew 2.7 percent year-on-year, reversing contractions in the previous four quarters, including a 4.2 percent drop in the last stretch of last year, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (李家超) said.
“A series of large-scale promotional events have boosted tourism and consumption, and improved the economy,” Lee told a press briefing. “As the mainland economy continues to grow at a fast pace and local aviation capacity speeds up its recovery, I believe Hong Kong’s economy in the second quarter will be better than that of the first.”
Photo: AFP
Last year, a series of restrictions on travel and social gatherings saw chunks of Hong Kong’s economy shut down and its exports dwindle, leading to a drop in GDP in all four quarters.
At the beginning of this year, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan (陳茂波) unveiled a US$97 billion budget aimed at resuscitating the territory’s fortunes.
The revival measures included handouts for more than 6 million people, a series of tax breaks and welfare allowances, as well as a new campaign to revive tourism.
Hong Kong entered a deepening recession in 2019 and 2020 after the former British colony was rocked by pro-democracy protests and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The territory found brief respite in 2021, as its strict COVID-19 controls largely kept it virus-free, with the economy rebounding 6.4 percent — gains later wiped out by last year’s outbreak.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
GREAT SUCCESS: Republican Senator Todd Young expressed surprise at Trump’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running US lawmakers who helped secure billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, signaling that any repeal effort in the US Congress would fall short. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who negotiated the law, on Wednesday said that Trump’s demand would fail, while a top Republican proponent, US Senator Todd Young, expressed surprise at the president’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running. The CHIPS Act is “essential for America leading the world in tech, leading the world in AI [artificial
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS