Hong Kong GDP growth pegged to accelerate to over 3%

Thanks to moderate recovery in the region.

According to Hang Seng Bank's Hong Kong Economic Monitor, in spite of the ongoing banking sector woes in Europe, the payroll tax increase and the automatic government spending cuts in the US, Hong Kong has reported relatively positive data in recent months. 

It also said that this echoes the moderate recovery in the region, albeit some setback in growth momentum was seen in March. The uptrend in retail sales and Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) warrants particular attention as both indicators have historically proved to be good proxies for the quarterly GDP outturn.

"On the basis of the retail sales and PMI figures, one would expect Hong Kong GDP growth to accelerate to over 3% for 1Q13," it said.