Hong Kong Q1 GDP growth slows to 0.6 percent year on year

ECONOMIC GROWTH - HONG KONG. Hong Kong's economy grew a slower 0.6% in the first quarter from a year earlier, the government said on Friday, hit by a slowdown in exports and investment amid U.S.-China trade frictions.

The first quarter's pace compares with an annual expansion of 1.2% in the previous quarter, and was slightly higher than its advance estimate of 0.5% growth.

On a quarterly basis, the economy expanded a seasonally adjusted 1.3% for the January-March period, after a revised 0.5% contraction in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The government is forecasting GDP growth of 2-3% this year, versus 3% in 2018.