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| Consumer confidence hits pre-1997 levels ( 01/03/2004 ) | |||||||||
Other positive indicators include a surge in visitors from the Chinese mainland, continued interest in inward investment and a rebound in property prices. In the last six months prices have seen a 20 per cent gain, and many analysts see prices rising further. This comes as good news to property owners, many of whom have been left in negative equity as prices fell by up to 60 per cent. Advertising spending, another popular sign of economic recovery, is also set to rise in 2004, according to an independent survey1, with banks, property firms, retailers and health product makers among the biggest spenders. Hub for regional expansion Following record inward investor numbers, overseas companies continue to choose Hong Kong as their Asia Pacific base. Tapping into the increasingly affluent Asian middle class, both US-based asset management company Oppenheimer Funds and UK banking company Barclays, set up offices. Japan's largest education company, Bennesse, is using Hong Kong to develop and source toys in China and the wider Asia region. Strengthening Hong Kong's role as an IT centre for Asia, US-based EMC Corporation, a world leader in information storage, and New Zealand anti-spam and security service provider, MailProve, have both recently opened offices. Record visitor arrivals expected Boosting the domestic economy, visitor numbers are forecast to rise by more than 30 per cent in 2004, to more than 20 million. Averaging out at some 50,000 visitors a day, the surge has been attributed to a reduction in visa restrictions between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland and higher levels of business travel, as a result of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (Cepa). Hong Kong's flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific, announced record passenger numbers for January, and continued growth in cargo volumes. Overall, more than three million people, or 97,000 a day, passed through Hong Kong's airport in January. | |||||||||
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