Hong Kong's gross domestic product grew at a steady pace in the first quarter of 2013, government data showed Friday.
The GDP rose 2.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, slightly faster than forecast of 2.7 percent expansion. This matched the revised GDP figure for the fourth quarter of 2102.
While the external sector still faced an unsteady global economic environment, the domestic sector remained relatively resilient, the government said in the latest Economic Report.
On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP expanded only 0.2 percent after a 1.4 percent growth in the preceding quarter.
Total exports of goods grew 8.8 percent in real terms annually in the first quarter, helped by a surge in exports of non-monetary gold.
Domestic demand largely held firm. Private consumption expenditure grew 7 percent in annual terms. Investment expenditure, however, fell back 2.2 percent from a distinctly high level last year.
The government, meanwhile, kept its GDP forecast for 2013 unchanged at 1.5 percent-3.5 percent. The outlook for both headline and core inflation was retained at 4.5 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.
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