Original title: visitors multiply, stock market recovers, and Hong Kong's economy has seen many highlights recently

Hong Kong city scenery (information picture). Photographed by Chen Duo, reporter of Xinhua News Agency

Xinhua News Agency, Hong Kong, May 3, by wire Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Qian

The number of visitors to Hong Kong has increased by 1.5 times year-on-year, the GDP has increased by 2.7%, and Hong Kong shares have risen for nine consecutive years... Since 2024, Hong Kong's economy has seen many bright spots.

According to the latest statistics of the Hong Kong Tourism Development Board, the number of visitors to Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2024 will be 11.23 million, an increase of 1.5 times over the same period last year and 5% over the fourth quarter of last year. The SAR government believes that the highlights of Hong Kong's economy in the first quarter benefited from the further increase in the number of visitors to Hong Kong, and the overall service output continued to grow significantly.

Li Jiachao, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, once said that the number of visitors to Hong Kong is expected to reach 50 million in 2024. It is estimated that every 1.5 million tourists can bring about 0.1 percentage point of GDP growth for Hong Kong, so 50 million tourists will greatly boost Hong Kong's economy.

In addition, the SAR government has also made remarkable achievements in enhancing the momentum of development. In terms of "competition for talents", over 220000 applications have been accepted by various talent entry plans in Hong Kong in the past year. So far, more than 130000 applications have been approved, and about 90000 talents have arrived in Hong Kong.

In terms of "grabbing enterprises", some enterprises that are optimistic about Hong Kong's opportunities also choose to increase their capital in Hong Kong. At present, Hong Kong has successfully introduced two batches of more than 50 key enterprises to settle in Hong Kong. These enterprises will invest more than HK $40 billion in Hong Kong, creating more than 13000 jobs, most of which are scientific research and management positions.

At the same time, Hong Kong's import and export also showed a growth trend. According to the definition of national economic accounting, Hong Kong's total exports of goods in the first quarter of this year rose by 6.7% year-on-year in real terms, and imports of goods rose by 3.2% year-on-year in real terms.

The Bank of China Hong Kong Institute of Finance predicts that the number of visitors to Hong Kong will continue to rise with the further recovery of Hong Kong's reception capacity and the holding of grand events, which will benefit the local retail industry in Hong Kong. The increase of Hong Kong residents' income and the measures taken by the government to boost the consumption atmosphere will also provide support for Hong Kong's retail consumption.

On January 1, brilliant fireworks bloomed over Victoria Harbour. Photographed by Zhu Wei, reporter of Xinhua News Agency

All kinds of good news hastened the spring of Hong Kong stock market. On May 3, the Hang Seng Index rose 268.79 points, or 1.48%, to close at 18475.92, achieving nine consecutive rises.

At this stage, the allocation value of Hong Kong's capital market is prominent, and the support policies of the central government and the SAR government have continued to be effective, providing attractive investment opportunities for domestic and foreign investors, so that more foreign institutions begin to appreciate the performance of Hong Kong's capital market.

In terms of policy, the CSRC issued five measures to support the Hong Kong capital market in April, including easing the trading of Hong Kong listed funds and real estate trust funds by domestic investors through the Hong Kong Stock Connect, and supporting more large enterprises to list in Hong Kong. The new regulations will help smooth the connectivity mechanism, introduce capital flowing water to the Hong Kong capital market and improve liquidity.

"Hong Kong shares have shown a volatile upward trend this year, especially in the last week or more. The trend is quite strong, better than that of the United States and Japan, reversing the previous downturn," said Yang Yuchuan, chief macro economist of Huada Securities.

On May 1, passengers walked out of West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong. Photographed by Chen Duo, reporter of Xinhua News Agency

The number of visitors to Hong Kong continued to increase, the preferential policies for Hong Kong were in place, and foreign investment increased... A series of good things made Hong Kong's economic growth in the first quarter better than expected. Fundamentally, Hong Kong's economic data that exceeded market expectations and the financial reports of some listed companies gave strong support to the capital market.

The Hong Kong Economic and Financial Monthly Report of the Bank of China Hong Kong Institute of Financial Research shows that Hong Kong has significantly improved its position in the field of global investment management and demonstrated its development potential in many fields. The market is full of confidence in the development prospects of Hong Kong's international financial center.