Balancing act: A visible upswing in economic activity and sentiment over the past month or two has given Financial Secretary Henry Tang room for cautious optimism that the economy has bottomed out. The latest forecast is for the economy to grow by around 3% for 2003, while the administration is determined to bring government spending down to $200 billion by 2008-09 and to boost revenues to $200 billion by then, too.

Financial Secretary Henry Tang, cautiously optimistic that the economy has bottomed out, has revised upward the forecast of GDP growth for 2003 to 3% from around 2%, he told the Legislative Council today.

Hong Kong's export trade performance remained strong during the SARS outbreak, he said, and exports of goods and services continue to grow. A strong rebound in visitor arrivals, retail sales and local consumption sentiments is also encouraging, as are signs of easing off in unemployment and deflation.