Robust exports and resilient domestic consumer spending drive growth despite Middle East tensions and rising energy costs
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenLam Ka-singPublished: 5:00pm, 5 May 2026Hong Kong has recorded its fastest economic growth in nearly five years in the first quarter, at 5.9 per cent, driven by strong exports and private consumption despite ongoing unrest in the Middle East.
The first-quarter growth exceeded the year-on-year increase of 4 per cent recorded in the fourth quarter of last year, according to advance estimates released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday.
The 5.9 per cent rise was also the strongest since the 7.6 per cent growth seen in the second quarter of 2021.
A government spokesman said the economic outlook remained positive, supported by strong global demand for artificial intelligence-related electronics, sustained growth in visitor arrivals and robust cross-boundary financial activity.
“Relatively solid business and consumer sentiment is expected to continue supporting domestic demand,” he said. “However, persistent tensions in the Middle East pose downside risks to the economic outlook.”
Private consumption expenditure rose 5 per cent in real terms in the first quarter from a year earlier, faster than the year-on-year growth of 2.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.
Exports of goods surged 23.8 per cent in the first three months of the year compared with the same period last year, despite a global fuel crisis triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.
