On the 16th, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government released the "First Quarter Economic Report 2025" and revised figures for the first quarter of 2025's Gross Domestic Product, stating that the Hong Kong economy will expand steadily in the first quarter of 2025. Statistics show that the real gross domestic product expanded by 3.1% year-on-year in the first quarter, accelerating from the 2.5% increase in the previous quarter. After seasonal adjustment and quarterly comparison, the real gross domestic product increased significantly by 1.9%. Acting Economic Advisor to the Special Administrative Region Government, Lin Guoying, believes that this is mainly supported by a significant increase in exports of goods and services, as well as a moderate recovery in overall investment spending, but private consumption spending continues to record a slight decline. Lin Guoying stated that the global economy maintained steady growth in the first quarter, external demand remained roughly sustained, and the expected significant increase in US tariffs in early April led to some goods being shipped ahead of schedule. As a result, Hong Kong's overall export growth of goods significantly accelerated, with a year-on-year real growth rate of 8.4%. Meanwhile, benefiting from the further increase in the number of visitors to Hong Kong, the increase in cross-border transportation volume, and the significant increase in cross-border financial and fundraising activities, the overall service output continued to expand significantly in the first quarter, with a year-on-year real growth rate of 6.6%. Lin Guoying believes that with the recent easing of international trade frictions, the unfavorable factors and uncertainties in the external environment have slightly eased, which may alleviate some of the downward pressure on the global economic outlook. At the same time, the mainland economy continues to grow steadily under more active fiscal policies and moderately loose monetary policies, which should be beneficial to the export performance of goods from Asia and even Hong Kong. International trade continues, coupled with the continued improvement of the inbound tourism industry, Hong Kong's service exports are expected to benefit. (New Society)