HONG KONG, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government announced advance estimates on Friday that Hong Kong's economy for the first quarter of 2025 increased 3.1 percent year-on-year, reaching a five-quarter high.

On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison basis, the economy increased 2 percent in real terms in the first quarter of 2025, the fastest growth in two years.

In the cited period, total exports of goods recorded an increase of 8.7 percent in real terms over a year earlier, much faster than an increase of 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Imports of goods grew 7.4 percent in real terms in the first quarter of 2025, compared with an increase of 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024.

A spokesperson for the HKSAR government said that as global trade tensions escalated abruptly in early April due to significant increases in import tariffs imposed by the United States, downside risks surrounding the global economy have heightened visibly. The extremely high levels of trade policy uncertainty will dampen international trade flows and investment sentiment, which in turn overshadow the near-term outlook for the Hong Kong economy.

Nonetheless, the sustained steady growth of the Chinese mainland economy, together with the HKSAR government's various measures to promote economic growth and expand into more diversified markets, will lend support to various economic activities in Hong Kong, the spokesperson added.

The Census and Statistics Department also released the latest figures on retail sales Friday. For the first quarter of 2025, it was provisionally estimated that the value of total retail sales decreased 6.5 percent compared with the same period in 2024.

Based on seasonally adjusted series, the provisional estimate of the value of total retail sales increased 3.8 percent, compared with the preceding quarter, while the provisional estimate of the volume of total retail sales increased 2.2 percent.

The spokesperson said that the sustained steady growth of the Chinese mainland economy, the HKSAR government's proactive efforts to boost the consumption market through promotion of tourism and mega events, and an increase in employment earnings will continue to support the retail sector. ■