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Hong Kong GDP Beats Estimates as Consumer Spending Perks Up

  • Retail sales rose for the first time in two years in March
  • Government sees upside while holding 2%-3% growth target
Pedestrians cross a road in front of a Lao Feng Xiang Co. jewelry store in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong, China, on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015. Little known outside mainland China, 167-year-old jeweler Lao Feng Xiang Co., is part of a wave of Chinese retailers that are inverting Hong Kong's high-end shopping model.
Photographer: Xaume Olleros/Bloomberg
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Hong Kong’s economy beat analyst expectations in the first quarter as retail sales in the city recovered and property prices reached new records.

Retail sales rose for the first time in two years in March, buoyed by a recovery in tourism from China, while exports jumped 9.2 percent from a year ago. The city’s property market, the world’s least affordable, has been on a tear in recent months despite attempts by the government to cool prices.